By Mark Wilson
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.
I am sitting here in the early afternoon twilight in this Advent season reflecting on the year behind me, and I am recognizing that I have been waiting for this moment where the world around me is mirroring the Kingdom within me.
In many ways it has felt like a dark year, but it is only by my proximity to the Light that I am able to perceive the darkness. It is that Divine Spark, life that is the light of all mankind, which illuminates yet does not consume, that speaks to me that I AM. That light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
Since the dawn of time we have gathered around the hearth, tending the home fire. We have stared into the flames, mesmerized by their dance, and have asked ourselves, “Who am I?”
The fire beckons us and calls us by name. “Mark Andrew Wilson. Be yourself. This is your directive.”
We approach the fire barefoot, with humility and reverence, but in our ignorance lack the comprehension and the confidence to embody its meaning. “Here am I. But who am I that I could…?!”
“Mighty Warrior, Strong and Courageous, Son of Will. I AM that I AM. I am with you, and I am concerned about your suffering. I am sending you to be present to
suffering.”
Who is it that you are called to be? Where is it that you are called to be present? I pray that you will be filled with the desire to know yourself more deeply, and in doing so would encounter and know the One who created you more deeply.
I am grateful to be surrounded by a community that comes alongside me and acknowledges that all is not as we would like it to be, but that all is well, all is well, and all manner of things shall be well. Despite our flaws and our failings, we recognize and honor the good and the sacred in each of us. Sometimes I like to imagine that we are joined together in the glow of the Sunrise Fireplace in Frank Lloyd Wright’s Oak Park home, which bears these words, “Truth is Life. Good friends, around these hearth stones, speak no evil word of any creature.”
Would those words be etched on each of our hearts, that we may see clearly, as we gaze into the mirror of one another’s souls.
So, here I am, enveloped in the darkness of this Advent season, tending the fire and embodying the Light. Despite the heaviness that this year has held, the darkness has been pierced by countless rays of light, moments pregnant with hope and full of beauty.
May the light of Christ warm your heart, illuminate your mind, and guide your way in the coming year, that each of us would be a conduit of Light, Life, and Love.
Abba Lot went to Abba Joseph and said to him, “Abba, as far as I can I say my little office, I fast a little, I pray and meditate, I live in peace and as far as I can, I purify my thoughts. What else can I do?” Then the old man stood up and stretched his hands towards heaven. His fingers became like ten lamps of fire and he said to him, “If you will, you can become all flame.”
– From “The Sayings of the Desert Fathers”
Someday, after we have mastered the winds, the waves and gravity, we shall harness for God energies of love. Then for the second time in the history of the world we will have discovered fire.
– Teilhard de Chardin
