 St Alban’s Episcopal Church Bolivar, Missouri Tuesday, December 21, 2021 Solstice – the first day of winter St Thomas The O antiphon: O Dayspring   The Fifth “O” Antiphon O Radiant Dawn O Dayspring It isn’t accidental that this antiphon belongs to the evening of the winter solstice (for us in the northern hemisphere.)Today is the first day of winter – the beginning of the turning of the seasons toward spring and light and longer days. We call Jesus the Light, the Sun of Righteousness, and today we pray for that eternal Dawn to break over all creation, and within us.  O come, thou dayspring from on high, and cheer us by thy drawing nigh; Disperse the gloomy shades of night, And death’s dark shadows put to flight. Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel. St Thomas – December 21 The Roman Catholic Church has celebrated St Thomas in July for the last several decades, but have no clear idea why they changed it. His feast is much better suited to this darkest day, the first day of winter. Kurt Nielson writes: “Thomas is an immensely important character in the Gospel of John, especially where we hear his honest and brave questions and his integrity and his grim courage (Let’s all go to Jerusalem, so we may die with him.) John’s community thought he was far more important than the cliché that he became in the west (“Doubting Thomas.”) Thomas stands as guardian of the Winter Solstice when darkness grows to its full strength, when our fears and doubts and grief envelope us and, in the night, threaten to overwhelm us…Thomas is the enemy of cheap comfort and clichés – and when all were grieving the death of the Master he refused to accept the other disciples’ assurances that the Master lived. Only direct intimacy was enough for Thomas, and the risen Master gave that very intimacy to his fierce uncompromising friend. Thomas is friend to all those who struggle in this season with loss and grief…When the night grows deep, Thomas, pray for us.”  |
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