You must pay close attention to what [the prophets] wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place--until the Day dawns, and Christ the Morning Star shines in your hearts. II Peter 1: 19b

"In the Bleak Mid-Winter"

The shortest, darkest days of the calendar year are upon us. It's that time of year the Victorian-era poet, Christina Rossetti calls "the bleak mid-winter," a term which seems even more appropriate than ever during our dark winter of uncertainty due to the surging pandemic and the deep ideological divisions in our country. The first stanza of Rossetti's poem* reads:

In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan,

Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;

Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,

In the bleak midwinter, long ago.

But this is also the time of year we've set aside to remember the Christ Child's birth. Rossetti's second stanza proclaims:

Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him, nor earth sustain;

Heaven and earth shall flee away when He comes to reign.

In the bleak midwinter a stable place sufficed

The Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.

 We remember relentlessly, by wholly immersing ourselves in giving gifts and baking goodies, singing Christmas carols like "Silent Night," "Joy to the World!" and Rossetti's poem "In the Bleak Midwinter" which was set to music in 1906**. We decorate the dark corners of our homes with Nativity tableaus, flickering candles, and bright strands of Christmas lights. It's right that we do these things. According to the BibleGateway site, the word "light" appears in the ESV, either literally or figuratively, 277 times. Here are only a few:   

 Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8:12

  In him was life, writes the Apostle John, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1: 4 �" 5

 The Apostle Peter reminds us, And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. . . 2 Peter 1: 19

 And the Apostle Paul writes, For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 4: 6

 Why wouldn't light be part of our remembrance of his birth?

 The angels proclaimed the Christ Child's birth, and wise men from distant lands brought gifts to him. The Israelites celebrated all major events of God's deliverance with feasts. It's right that we sing, give gifts, and celebrate the Good News of deliverance with feasting.

 I'll leave you with this, the last stanza of Rossetti's poem in which she asks herself a question, then answers it. Perhaps this time of "bleak mid-winter" is the time to ask ourselves the same question again, or maybe for the first time:

 What can I give Him, poor as I am?

    If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;

    If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;

    Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart.

Daye Phillippo

December 2020

 * https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/53216/in-the-bleak-midwinter

** "In the Bleak Midwinter" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0aL9rKJPr4