The Return of the Sun

Weekly reflections on religion and what's going on in the world.

PASTOR’S MESSAGE – REV. STEVEN P. GUNTHER

Here we are in mid-January. The hustle and bustle of the holidays have worn off, school and work are back to our regularly scheduled programming, maybe we have even taken down our decorations from the holidays. For some of us, this can be a nice return to normal. And yet, for others, this can be a difficult time of year. It’s hard to go from a few months bursting at the seams with events, family time, and holiday excitement to the seemingly quiet and uneventful winter months. I’ll be honest, I find January and February to be two of the hardest months of the year. And yet, there is something at this time of year that I love to see and notice:
the return of the sun.

At Christmas time, we often talk about the Lord being like a light that comes into a dark world, and it’s  serendipitous (or maybe providential?) that we celebrate Christmas right around the winter solstice -- the shortest, darkest time of the year. From December until June, every day gets a little bit longer than it was the day before. While I have a hard time feeling cold and cooped up at this time of year, I can focus on the returning of the sun to
realize that this time of year is only temporary, and warmer days are on their way.

But here’s the thing: it’s hard to notice the days getting longer. Today in Bryn Athyn we have 9 hours, 35 minutes, and 24 seconds between sunrise and sunset. This is 1 minute and 19 seconds longer than yesterday. That is such a small difference that I doubt any of us will even notice -- in fact, it’s small enough that I doubt any of us could notice, even if we tried. And yet, if I told you that a week from today, the day will be right around 9 hours and 46 minutes, a whole 11 minutes longer than today, that begins to feel like a noticeable difference.

Just as the earth goes through different seasons, we also experience similar shifts in our spiritual states. Sometimes life is great and it feels like smooth sailing while other times we face serious trials and temptations. What I love about the slow return of the sun at this time of year is that it reminds me that while we don’t always feel the progress we are making as we navigate spiritual trials, the reality is that every time we face a temptation and don’t give in to our lower self, it is like making it through a night-time state and the next trial will be just a little bit easier to get through. As with the light, we may not notice this change in the moment, but as we fight the same temptations over time, eventually we will realize that they aren’t as difficult as they used to be. So, let us all celebrate the return of not only the natural sun, but the spiritual Sun as well.

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