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Return
of the Sun and the Return of the Son
Fr. John Cusick
"I still can't see it," I said.
"You must put your face on the
dirt
floor and look for it from there."
So I did. And I saw it.
I was in a tomb that is about 5000
years old. And I was looking for an
opening to the outside world no more
than 16 inches wide and about 8
inches high.
A tour guide, who led us through a very
narrow, 62-foot long passage-way, escorted us into the tomb. When
we all made our way to the burial chamber, the guide turned off
the lights. It was cold, ever so still, and hauntingly quiet. And
we were in total darkness. Yet we were told that above the narrow
corridor we traveled there was another passageway, a roof box or
a passage of light, that let in light from outside the tomb.
And you could only see it if you put your
face on the floor and looked back and up. So I did. And I saw it.
It was designed 5000 years ago to let the
rising sun shine brightly through that passage on the shortest (sun)
day of the year around December 21st. And when it did - then and
now - it illuminates that tomb so brightly that one might even need
to shade their eyes as this bright needle of light illuminates the
floor of the burial place where we were standing. And the illumination
is quick. On December 21st the thin pencil of light begins to illumine
the area at 9:58am and the light is completely gone at 10:15am.
The sun will not shine through that ancient light box for another
year and, when the sun returns again, for a mere 17 minutes.
Five thousand years ago these ancient people,
at a place now called Newgrange, County Meath, Ireland, celebrated
the return of the sun. And they carved an opening into the tombs
of their leaders that would allow this sun to come and rest at the
exact place where they placed their dead. And the light of the sun
would not shine in there again until it began to "return"
for another year.
This is one of the oldest, if not the oldest,
discoveries of the importance placed on the Winter Solstice and
a ritual or celebration of the return of the sun to warm the earth
and allow the crops to grow. And when that occurred, people would
have food to eat and be able to survive one more year. The return
of the sun was one of the most important astrological, social, personal
and religious events for the people of Newgrange and for cultures
and people throughout the Northern Hemisphere.
Four thousand years ago, one thousand years
after Newgrange, another ancient people created a monument that
ritualized the Winter Solstice. We know that monument as Stonehendge.
Two thousand years after that, a mere two
thousand years ago, the Romans, whose influence, power and armies
controlled so much of the world, at the time of the Winter Solstice,
celebrated the Return of the Sol Invictus, the unconquerable sun.
And it was at this time that the Event of
Jesus Christ was beginning to shape the beliefs, customs and rituals
of many people. These Christians, followers of this Jesus, the Christ,
began their own Winter Solstice celebration: The Return of the Son.
So at a time annually when many people celebrated
the Return of the Sun, there was now a celebration of the Return
of the Son. It has come be known as Christmas.
Many of the rituals of our Catholic Faith
are a response to what goes on in the popular culture. That's the
story of Christmas.
You need the sun in order to survive? You
need the Son in order to survive.
You celebrate the Return of the (Unconquerable)
Sun? We invite you to celebrate with us the Return of the (Unconquerable)
Son.
So for the first 1200+ years of Christianity,
our ancestors' celebration of Christmas was a commemoration of the
fact that the Son of God, Jesus Christ, would return in glory. And
His followers would transform the world into the very image of our
Creator God. They would be a light to the world. They and we would
be the bearers of Christ's salvation to all. We would act justly,
live peacefully and walk humbly with our God. We are the bearers
of God's love and Christ's forgiveness to all we meet.
Until the Return of the Son in glory, the
Son will return through the constant and consistent activity of
God's holy people, who are offering Christ's salvation to all they
meet.
The Return of the Sun was an enormously
important event each year for agrarian people. By late December,
darkness and cold covered their earth. It was frozen solid. Very
little could grow. But when the sun began its journey from the depth
of the southern sky to its throne in the northern sky by late June,
it warmed the earth.. As the sun got higher in the sky, the air
warmed and the earth thawed. Seeds buried deep in the earth were
invited by the sun to come forth from the earth and bear fruit.
It was the fruit of the earth that became
the food of the earth that kept the human community alive. It all
depends on the sun.
It all depends on the Son for us, too. It
is God who gives us the food of the earth. And from the food of
the earth, we grow the wheat that becomes the bread. We harvest
the grapes that become the wine. And it is the breaking of the bread
and sharing of the wine we celebrate that the Son, who never leaves
us, returns to us as food for the life of the world, the Body of
Christ. We are then invited to be the Body of Christ for others.
Can you sense where this is going? Can you
make the connections between the sun and the son? Do you understand
the importance of Christmas then and now?
And so…
When you set out your Christmas crib and
place the baby in a manger with Mary and Joseph on either side;
When you place the star above it all and have magi and shepherds
worshipping in awe;
When you have your angels in place announcing "good news for
people of good will";
When you read the sacred texts in the gospels of Matthew and Luke…
It will be one of the darkest days of the
year. It will be cold outside and you might see ice and snow. Think
of what such a day and time of the year meant to your ancestors.
Think of what is must have meant to them to celebrate the return
of the sun.
Take a moment. Look at your Christmas crib.
Look at the child in a manger (a feeding trough for animals), who
is food for the world. Look at the star that can only be seen in
the dark. You are the light of world. Look at the people looking
at the child, lowly shepherds and regal magi. They are looking for
life and love and hope. So are you, as you look at the crib.
It's all about the Return of the Son.
Have a Merry Christmas!
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