It gets dark here in the winter, but even as the grip of the cold and dark takes hold, we hear about the promise of brightness coming, and, not surprisingly, I know a song about that.
LATIN: O Oriens, splendor lucis aeternae, et sol iustitiae: veni, et illumina sedentes in tenebris et umbra mortis.
ENGLISH: O dawn of the east, splendor of light eternal, and sun of justice: come, and illuminate those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.
That lyric is usually translated as,
"O come, thou Dayspring, come and cheer our spirits by thine advent here; disperse the gloomy clouds of night, and death's dark shadows put to flight"
You might know this as the fifth verse of O Come, O Come Emmanuel, but it's also a separate tune.
This chant is one of the old "O Antiphons" used from the time of the early church and is set to be sung on Dec. 21, the Winter Solstice. For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, it's a time of great darkness within the solar year. The sun is at its lowest on the horizon and the day length is at its shortest. But it's also the time that the day length will start increasing and the sun will be gaining in strength; a great image for Christians as we live in the promise and hope of Christ's brightness shining in the dark of our own shortcomings.
This chant helps us remember what the prophet Isaiah proclaimed, "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness - on them light has shined." This isn't a hope or even a promise, but is stated as a fact that's already happened.
"For unto us a child is born for us...and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Jesus is born for us, and is so much more than any one person can comprehend.
So we sing songs of the coming Son of God, hang lights up around our houses, and fill our surroundings with cheerful decorations. Even though it's dark today (and might continue to feel dark for more days yet), I'm thankful for the increasing brightness as the daylight starts to increase - may my faith continue to increase as well.
Bill Campbell is a professor of music at St. Ambrose University, and St. Paul's coordinator of contemporary music.
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