Religious | Pilgrim's Perch

Doorway to Darkness: Summer’s End

The end of October brings us to Samhain (pronounced ‘Sow-en’). A seemingly strange word, it comes from two old Irish words meaning ‘summer’s end.’ Samhain is more popularly known as ‘Halloween’ – the eve of the Christian festival All Hallows, or All Saints.

Full moon in dark sky — As summer ends the days become shorter and winter darkness approaches

Hallowe’en falls on 31st October and is the most important night in the neo-pagan calendar – as darkness seems to take over the world with the shorter days and weaker sunlight the night is charged with superstition. This has led to countless customs in the efforts of humans to survive the darker forces of nature.

Candles to keep the darkness at bay — Flickering candles help keep the darkness at bay

The somewhat questionable practices of mischief and ‘trick- or treat-ing’ have their roots in the creating of fantastic and hideous lanterns, carved with faces and lit with candles – all designed to look as scary as possible in order to ward off evil spirits. Samhain and Hallowe’en fires would be lit on hilltops to honour and invoke the sun’s power and to guard against the coming darkness. Death and the absence of light are two of the most embedded fears we experience; keeping them at bay for as long as possible has become a lifelong goal for many.

Spooky pumpkin lanterns with fantastic features scare bad spirits away — Pumpkin lanterns with fantastic features scare bad spirits away

But Hallowe’en has another important purpose too. It was Jung who said about shadow, that ‘one does not become enlightened by imaginary figures of light but by making the darkness conscious.’ In other words, Hallowe’en is a good time to take a hard long look at our fears and doubts, to recognise and acknowledge them before allowing the light of All Saints, the feast that comes hot on the heels of Hallowe’en, to illuminate them.

The dark doorway that comes with the onset of winter and the darker months — Summer’s end brings the Doorway to Darkness

The last day of October has been called ‘the gateway to the darkest months of winter.’ One writer has said of this night, ‘The spirits within the shadows of our minds, and those without, in the shadows of the night, were thought to be abroad. It is a time for attending to our fears, including that of death, and for remembering our loved ones. It is a time for journeying within, seeking wisdom, however hidden or feared, and seeking too the paradoxical way of peace.’

Age and wisdom brings the tools to deal with the darkness and find inner peace — A moment of repose: facing the darkness can bring peace and insight

Holy Week and Easter

The season of Lent draws to an end and the Christian church enters Holy Week. Palm Sunday blows in with the cheering and waving of palm branches as Jesus enters Jerusalem. ‘Hosanna to the Son of David’, the people cry – believing that here is the Saviour they’ve been waiting for. Repression, oppression and hardship will cease and all shall be well.

But the events of Holy Week take a twist. The authorities are upset by Jesus and what they see as his subversive actions. Determined to do away with him they bring about his arrest, fake trial and execution. All seems lost…

Good Friday is one of the most painful days in the Christian year. Betrayal, loss, grief and bewilderment – just some of the emotions felt by the family, friends and followers of Jesus as they stand at the foot of the cross and watch him die. So many people have endured these emotions over the last year as they have seen the effects of Covid-19 on family and friends. It’s tough to experience; hard to understand why such bad, sad things happen. None of us can bypass the cross. But even as we stand there, weeping, God is with us. Even as he died, one of the last thoughts of Jesus was for his mother and his much loved disciple, as he commended them to each other’s care. His love never ends.

Jesus dies and is laid in a tomb. All seems lost. Holy Saturday comes in as a quiet, sad and reflective day when the earth seems to cease turning and all life is suspended in a kind of disbelief.

But then a new day dawns, Easter arrives, and with it a jubilant message of death being overturned. New life bursts forth with the risen Jesus – just as he had promised. A new story begins…

Each of us can take hope from this. In the last book of the Christian Bible are written the words, ‘Behold, I make all things new…’ (Revelation 21:5.) Spring arrives, and with it comes an explosion of new life springing forth. Now is the time for us to delight in the signs of spring and to remember that age-old promise expressed so delightfully in the Book of Psalms, ‘weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning.’ (Psalm 30:5.)

Ash Wednesday: the beginning of Lent

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent in the Christian calendar. Traditionally it is a time of penitence and fasting, reflecting the forty days that Jesus spent in the wilderness. Ash is often made by burning the previous year’s palm crosses. In a simple ceremony penitents are marked with the sign of the cross in ash on their foreheads, a reminder of the frailty of human life. ‘Dust thou art and to dust thou shalt return.’

Solitary figure in the desert — Out into the wilderness

The solemnity of this season comes, perhaps, at a time this year when we may be feeling a bit ‘down’ anyway and not in need of yet more reminders of the fragility of our mortal life. A long winter, a long lockdown, a strange way of living – it’s tempting to want to break free from all the restrictions – we may not want the additional discipline and rigour of Lenten fasting and abstinence.

But Lent is also a good time to remind ourselves that, despite the trials and tribulations of the current times, we are all loved and valued by God. Jesus’ time in the wilderness comes right after his baptism – that occasion when a voice came from heaven saying, ‘This is my beloved.. with whom I am well pleased.’ (You can read the story in Matthew’s gospel, chapter 3.)

God knows his Son very well – he knows he is ready to start out on his ministry. That ministry begins with a time spent in the desert – away from family, friends and home, subject to alien voices that don’t comfort but bring challenge and temptation.

‘My beloved’

But Jesus knows that he needs to hold on to the memory of the voice that strengthened him at his baptism. Each one of us goes through wilderness times – when our faith feels feeble, weak and unreliable. It may be a time when we need to do some hard heart-searching, seeking again those elements of our faith that enable and help us to live in this amazing world – even when that world feels odd and dislocated. It is a time for renewing our prayer life – and much of the time that will mean listening out for God rather than bombarding him with endless lists of requests and anxieties. God often come to us in the silence, in the wilderness, in the emptiness. We need those empty times so that our inner resources can be healed and restored, enabling us to start out again on the journey that God sends us.

Unexpected flower in the wilderness — A bloom in a barren place

And don’t forget – when the rains come and the wilderness blooms it can be an amazingly beautiful sight. Treasure those blooms…