I know. I know. You hear the complaint all the time and so do I. “The kids were barely back to school and the Halloween stuff was already out in the stores.” And now, “before Halloween had even passed the Christmas stuff began appearing.” And now I am unashamedly adding to the rush to Christmas!
Well, I say. Bring it on! I, for one, am desperate for the beautiful decorative lights of Christmas. In her book, “Praying our Goodbyes,” Joyce Rupp writes: “There is an ache in autumn that is also in each one of us. There is a wordless yearning or a longing for something in the air, and it penetrates the human spirit. Autumn speaks to this pain in our own spirits, that ache which we try so hard to ignore or deny or push aside, that little persistent reminder that death is always a part of life.”
I am surely feeling the “ache in autumn.” Maybe you are too? The ache is most acute this year. I am feeling more than an ache. To be honest, I am filled with anguish. This is because of all that is so devastatingly broken in our world. Just when I think things can’t get worse, I listen to the latest news.
The Middle East, among other places in the world, is a tinder box. Barely had I begun to regain my footing from the horrific images of the most recent war, when more news came. It was the mass shootings in Lewiston, Maine, that knocked me back off my feet. All of this takes place against the backdrop of hateful division in our own country, as we approach an election year. Each of these headlines reek of death. Death not only of bodies, but also of hope, and peace, and maybe even justice. The “ache in autumn” indeed!
So, this year, I am eagerly awaiting the displays of Christmas lights throughout Cape Ann. Our neighbor, Mike, spends days putting up his display on Abbott Road. Just yesterday, I was walking by, and I noticed he had already started. I cheered him on!
Most religious traditions celebrate light as a sign of the Holy. In my Christian tradition, we will light our Advent wreaths, adding a candle each Sunday. In doing so, we are reminded that Jesus, the “Light of the world,” has come to us amidst the darkness of the human condition. In the Jewish tradition Hanukkah is known as “The Festival of Lights.” And the eight candles of the Menorah are also lit, to celebrate that the cruse of oil lasted for eight days in celebration of retaking the temple in Jerusalem. For Muslims, a great celebration is held at the end of Ramadan with candles to celebrate growing closer to Allah. In late autumn, the holiday of Diwali is celebrated by those who practice Hinduism. Diwali is a five-day celebration of lights to celebrate the new year.
So, dear people of Cape Ann, string and hang those lights. I’ll come and hold the ladder for you. Drape garlands of light along your fences. Outline the silhouette of your homes with lights. Circle the trees in your yards with lights. Light candles in every window. Get carried away! Bring it on! Many times, here on Cape Ann, we have the added delight of seeing the lights reflected in the waters that surround our island home! Double joy!
My youngest daughter and I often play this sort of game. We count the lights that we see as we drive along. Sometimes we get to 200 or 300 depending on our route. Help me lose count this year! And, would you do me one more favor, would you leave them up for an extra month or so this year?
One year we went around and awarded prizes to people for their light displays. One of the prizes was “Most Likely to be Seen from Outer Space!” I want more of those this year. We might do that again. So don’t be surprised if I show up at your door!
In the meantime, let me close with the words of those esteemed “prophets” Peter, Paul and Mary.
“Don’t let the light go out!
“It’s lasted for so many years!
“Don’t let the light go out!
“Let it shine through our hope and our tears.
“… Light one candle for the strength that we need
“To never become our own foe
“And light one candle for those who are suffering
“Pain we learned so long ago
“Light one candle for all we believe in
“That anger not tear us apart
“And light one candle to find us together
“With peace as the song in our hearts”
Cape Ann, don’t let the lights go out! I am counting on you!
The Rev. Valerie M. Roberts-Toler is a retired United Methodist pastor who lives on Cape Ann. That will be her, slowing down near your well lit homes this Christmas.