Inspirational | Pilgrim's Perch

Revealing Joy in January

The days of January can seem short in length but interminable in their dragging out day by day to the very end of the month. After the excitement of Christmas we feel, perhaps, like a small child – tired and emotional – and with the turning of the year it’s as though bleak reality sets in.

A tree stands silhouetted against a winter sky — *The dark days of January*

The brevity of winter daylight marks January as a dreary month; those neutral shades of grey, pale brown and yet more grey seem to cast an unremitting dullness over the landscape.

Dark twigs form wonderful patterns against the backdrop of a silvery sky — *Dark twigs cast intricate patterns against a January sky*

And yet this is a good time to enjoy trees in all their stripped-back glory. Denuded of their leaves you are able to see their true shape; to follow the branches from trunk to twig-tip; to trace the intricate patterns the interweaving twigs reveal. Touch and feel the bark of the tree; sometimes rugged and rough; sometimes smooth as a cheek. Wonder at the colour of bark as it gleams in the occasional ray of sun; never uniform but always a palette of shades of yellow, brown, grey, silver.

The English poet, Thomas Hardy, created an evocative picture in his poem ‘The Darkling Thrush’ when he wrote:

The tangled bine-stems scored the sky 
	Like strings of broken lyres,
	And all mankind that haunted nigh
	Had sought their household fires.

We picture the scramble of twiggery and stems caught up in wintry gusts; perhaps we shiver and head for home, for the warmth and comfort of the homely fire.

Or, it may be a delightfully sharp and clear frosty day. Branches strike elegant poses against the sky; poplar trees reach for the clouds with proud elegant sweeps.

A poplar tree displays its branches reaching upwards to the skies. — *Reach for the clouds…*

And if it has been raining we can marvels at raindrops clinging to the underside of delicate twigs, awaiting the inevitable ground-ward pull of gravity.

Drops of rain tremble on tree twigs, waiting to fall to the ground — *Tiny drops of rain tremble on twigs like small jewels*

Even better if there has been a fall of snow and trees capture handfuls of snow in their woody fingertips. Then is the time to tread softly; to hear the muffled stillness that comes in a snowy wood, broken only by the occasional rustle as a branch sheds its snowy burden.

Fluffy snow held captive in the hold of pine needles — *A net of pine needles captures a fall of snow*

‘The Darkling Thrush’ finishes with a note of hope, a sudden moment of joy in the middle of the gloomy landscape. An aged thrush breaks the silence with his outpouring of glorious song:

At once a voice arose among
	The bleak twigs overhead
	In a full-hearted evensong
	Of joy illimited...

Hiding amongst the branches a bird bursts suddenly into song — *A hidden bird bursts into song amidst the branches*

January may be long but it is not without moments of joy and revelation. Winter does not last indefinitely.

A ray of sun gleams out unexpectedly and brightens the darkness of a January day — *A welcome gleam of sun brightens a January day*

At the dawn of a new year…

As the year fades, I look back with some gladness and with some sadness.
I see the broken dreams, splintered hopes and wearisome sorrows of many folk.

A box of mixed emotions — *Laughter, sorrow, amusement, sadness, joy…*

As the Christmas season continues I give thanks for families trying to be family despite all that’s happened.

Family gathered together; differences set aside — *Family gathering*

I rejoice for people’s generosity of giving and the delight of receiving.

Fun and joy as children enjoy opening gifts — *The joy and fun of giving and receiving*

As the dawn of a new year approaches I offer my hopes and prayers to the One who is able to do far more than we can imagine.

The dawn leads in a new day and a new year — *A new day, a new way, a new year…*

May your new year be blessed.

Advent: The Light coming into the World

Christ comes into the world to bring light and banish darkness

Balinese artist Nyoman Darsane—painter, musician and dancer was born in 1939 and raised as a Hindu. At the age of seventeen he became a Christian and as a result was ostracized by his family and village community, who thought he was abandoning his culture. But Darsane was determined to show through his art that Christianity was not at odds with the Balinese heritage and they eventually accepted him back. Darsane once said: “Bali is my body; Christ is my life.”

Dance is integral to Balinese life and in so many of his paintings Nyoman Darsane depicts Jesus as a dancer, dancing the world into being. In this picture we see a bare-chested Jesus, full of energy, dancing down from the top right corner and bringing fire and light. We see him wearing traditional ornaments – wrist and arm bands, a leather necklace and white cotton pants with velvet cuffs. As Jesus clears a path for himself he pushes the demons to the very edge so he can dance right into the womb of Mary. Mary kneels in traditional Balinese prayer posture, holding a frangipani flower to her forehead.

The symbolism here is clear. Jesus comes to challenge the powers of darkness; to fight the power of oppression and injustice , and to usher in a new way of being. He invites us to consider how we can fight the obstacles that afflict so many, and strive to make the world a better place.

He parted the heavens and came down with a storm cloud under his feet.
He reached down from on high and grasped me; he drew me out of great waters.
He delivered me from my strong enemies and from those who hated me; for they were too mighty for me.
He brought me into an open place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.
He parted the heavens and came down.
Adapted from Psalm 18