Reflection from the Longest Night Service

a service for those experiencing grief and loss

Commentary on John 1:1-5 & 9

Roger Lynn

December 21, 2017

It is appropriate that this service is held on the longest night of the year. When you have experienced loss and find yourself in the midst of grief, it can feel as if the darkness will last forever, with no hope that the sun will ever again light your world. Journeying through that darkness can be a daunting and overwhelming challenge. We put one foot in front of the other, pulled along by some force which we cannot name and do not understand, because in that moment the darkness is our reality. But we are saved by the fact that there is more to life than simply our own personal perceived reality. The prologue to John’s Gospel (which we heard read just a few moments ago) describes this broader, deeper, fuller reality as “the Word” – the living incarnation of divine presence. And John says that this presence enlightens everyone. Everyone – whether you notice or not, whether you ask for it or not, whether you think you deserve it or not. God’s light shines in our lives, guiding us along through the darkness, even when we have no idea why we should keep going.

Peter Mayer wrote a song about this night and this experience. He calls it “The Longest Night.” When I heard it sung for the first time last week I knew that his words needed to find their way into this service.

Light a candle, sing a song  

Say that the shadows shall not cross  

Make an oblation out of all you’ve lost  

In the longest night    

Gather friends and cast your hopes  

Into the fire as it snows  

And stare at God through the dark windows  

Of the longest night  

Of the year  

CHORUS:  

A night that seems like a lifetime  

If you’re waiting for the sun  

So why not sing to the nighttime  

And the burning stars up above?  

Come with drums, bells and horns  

Or come in silence, come forlorn  

Come like a miner to the door  

Of the longest night  

For deep in the stillness, deep in the cold  

Deep in the darkness, a miner knows  

That there is a diamond in the soul  

Of the longest night  

Of the year  

CHORUS:  

A night that seems like a lifetime  

If you’re waiting for the sun  

So why not sing to the nighttime  

And the burning stars up above?  

Maybe peace hides in a storm  

Maybe winter’s heart is warm  

And maybe light itself is born  

In the longest night  

In the longest night  

Of the year  

So, no matter where you find yourself on this dark journey, I invite you to trust that the experience will finally bring you back once again to the light. Because even when it feels like we are alone in the darkness, the living, illuminating, healing presence of the Divine is always as close to us as our breathing.