Today is the seasonal threshold of Fall Equinox. It is the midway point between the longest day and the shortest day of the year. Today the hours of light and dark stand in balance with each other. Today is a good day to notice and attend to. Celtic Spirituality honors transitions as holy spaces, thin spaces. Today is the transition between
Summer and Fall
Harvest’s inbringing and restful fallow season
Leaf shade and Leaf fall
Lightweight shirts and shorts and heavy sweaters and coats
Summer fruits and winter roots
Salads and stews
Summer lazy and the return of school and cultural events
In the Bavarian countryside, the sheep and the cows are brought down from high pasture along traditional paths that are now busy roads. Cars and people wait for the passage of the creatures. It is a powerful season marker of transition to watch. It is an ancient journey that has taken repeated cycles for centuries. When we stand still to watch the sheep we know that while the sheep herders may carry cell phones in their pockets, the animals still walk the ancient ways. Sheep are sheep.
We started clearing our back porch yesterday. In between or maybe in the middle of the rain, I’ll finish taking out the now sprawling tomato plants and plan one last pesto feast from the basil plants. I’ll put away the bbq charcoal for next spring and clean up the grill. I’ll do this intentionally, asking God to be in this work. I’ll think of the summer now over and give thanks for the good gifts it brought me. I’ll also consider the things that didn’t go well before I release them into the passage of time. I’ll also be going through the seasonal change of my closet. Hot summer shorts will go back into the box I am drawing out the winter long sleeve shirts. In this balancing moment it is now time to shift our body’s weight from one foot to the other, our experience from one season to another, and prepare our faith that journeys into and through darkness as well as light.
I like thinking about Martha and Mary, two sisters who opened their home to Jesus and the disciples. Martha worked hard to be a good hostess by preparing food and a comfortable atmosphere for the guests. Mary sat down with Jesus and absorbed all that Jesus had to say. Most of the time when we talk about this story we end up taking sides. Who was the better woman we debate at Bible study or preach from the pulpit. In this season of balance I think they were both the same person. Together, they are the harmony and the tension of both hosting and experiencing the gift of presence. It would be difficult to have guests if no one prepares the food. But it is also a loss if all one does is care taking of others and not soul tending for one’s self. In this Threshold of balance I wonder if we could be both Mary and Martha? (Luke 10:38-42)
Today and tomorrow are good days for minding transitions and threshholds. Some we chose and some that come without our consent. Consider taking some time to specifically, deliberatley and with reverence cross a threshold physically. Prepare your home for cooling months, plan a meal that honors falling temperatures, set up a bowl of apples someplace where your family gathers. Ask where the Holy Spirit is leading you in this threshold of balance and change.
O radiant light, O sun divine
Of God the Father's deathless face,
O image of the light sublime
That fills the heav'nly dwelling place.
O Son of God, the source of life,
Praise is your due by night and day;
Our happy lips must raise the strain
Of your esteemed and splendid name.
Lord Jesus Christ, as daylight fades,
As shine the lights of eventide,
We praise the Father with the Son,
The Spirit blest and with them one
.
William Storey