#116 - The Light the Darkness Could Not Overcome {Reflections}

The darkest days of the year have a way of revealing what we hope for most. As the sun seems to stand still at the winter solstice, we explore how the early church met Celtic communities who celebrated the return of light and discovered a powerful bridge: the birth of Jesus as the moment when light begins to grow again. Rather than trivia about December 25, we follow a lived story where earth, season, and scripture align—John’s “light shines in the darkness” echoed by bonfires, frost, and the first few longer afternoons.

We trace the arc from the agrarian rhythms of the Celts to the political and spiritual night of first‑century Israel under Roman rule. Longing, not certainty, shaped people’s days. Into that cold and silence, a child arrived. We connect that historical darkness to the emotional winters we carry now—frozen relationships, tired hearts, rigid views that need thawing. The solstice becomes a parable you can feel on your skin: light returns slowly but surely, and the gospel grows like dawn, not a spotlight.

Along the way, we share why the timing of Christmas still matters in places where winter bites hard, and how paying attention to small increases of light can reshape faith and daily life. Expect grounded storytelling, gentle theology, and practical reflection. You’ll leave with language to name your own midnight and simple ways to welcome warmth back in: a step toward forgiveness, a call you’ve delayed, a posture of mercy to a neighbor. If you’ve ever wondered whether the season’s symbolism is just sentiment, this conversation shows why the earth itself keeps preaching hope.

If this resonated, share it with a friend who needs a bit of light, subscribe for more reflections, and leave a review to help others find the show. Where do you want the light to start growing this week?

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Chapters

• 0:17 Welcome And Holiday Framing
• 0:32 Was Jesus Born On December 25
• 0:53 Christianity Meets The Celts
• 1:43 Winter Solstice And The Longing For Light
• 3:29 Israel’s Darkness And The Birth Of Jesus
• 4:48 Personal Darkness And Growing Light
• 6:20 Blessing And Farewell
• 6:20 Share And Join Us At Central

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:17

What is up everybody? Hey, my name is Ryan and welcome to our Reflections podcast. Hey, depending on when this is released, hey, Merry Christmas. Or Merry Almost Christmas. Merry the week of Christmas? Mer yeah, whatever that whatever it is, merry, merry to that. Hey, did you know that that Jesus probably wasn't actually born on December 25th? Many of you probably know that, but we don't really know when he was born. There's all kinds of guesses people make, but but there's actually, I heard this incredible reason why we probably celebrate it on the 25th. Or at least a reason that I like that it's where it is now, on you know, in the middle of winter. And here's how the story goes. I love this story. So when Christianity begins to spread out from Jerusalem, if you can imagine a map, it begins to spread, you know, each direct Paul goes, and then and then the church begins to expand and it begins to go north and west, and it begins to kind of go north up into Europe. And uh they eventually, the Christians there, encounter people who don't really know and understand the Jesus story at all, of course. And they encounter these groups of people up there, and one of them is the Celts. And the Celts, the Christians had a hard time explaining kind of the theological construct of Jesus, and the Celts didn't really grasp it because the Celts are very much like earthly people. They wanted to know, hey, how does this story happen? Not in some theological construct or you know, like uh thesis, but how does it happen in the earth? Uh, because the Celts were like agrarian, earthy people. And so anyway, while the Christians were there, they noticed that that every winter the Celts, who again were deeply connected to the earth, they had this incredible sort of celebration every winter called the winter solstice. And it was the most important feast on their calendar year because living in these cold climates, the Celts were extremely dependent on the sun. They were agrarian, they they grew their food, and they needed the sun. And during the fall, they would notice that that as the fall approached, that the days would get shorter and shorter, and the light would kind of shrink, and the nights would get longer and darker, and it made it tough to live as one of the Celtic people. And so uh, so yeah, so this time of year, winter, as fall turns into winter, the days were absolutely the shortest of the whole year. But then they would have this winter solstice, this party every winter, every around this time of year, December 21st through 25th, somewhere in there. And uh, and naturally, we know it was naturally that it would happen, but the earth would begin to tilt. And after this part of the year, the days would slowly begin to get longer and longer. I mean, solstice, it literally means the sun stands still. And so the sun on the winter solstice day seems to stand still. But then from that day forward, the light in the daytime begins to grow again, which was worth celebrating. Now, in the again, in the modern world, we know this happens naturally, but the Celts believed that they needed to engage in some kind of a spiritual practice to like invite the sun to come back and to lengthen the days and to help the sun to kind of be reborn again. So that was like what was happening. In the darkest time of year, the Celts longed for the light to start growing once again. So they'd have this big celebration. Well, the Christians hear this about this winter solstice party, the celebration, like, yeah, we know that story. We know about the story about a very dark time and a cold and uh a cold time in which people long for the rebirth of the sun and the power that brings freshness and radiance to everything in the cosmos. And they begin to tell them the Jesus story, and then like John 1, where there's a light that shines in the darkness, and the darkness can't overcome it. And Jesus, this baby that's born into the darkness. Actually, it's the darkest time in Israel's story as well. If you know the Israel story, you know, uh the for example, in the first century, the Jews are living under Roman occupation, they're being taxed to high heaven, the temple's corrupted, there's the Spirit of God who said to have left the temple and hasn't come back. The people are longing and waiting for a savior, a messiah, an anointed king to come to deliver them uh from the Roman occupation and oppression and to restore them back as the people of God, as the people of Israel. And they waited. And this is the exact moment when Jesus is born and the light begins to grow again. Jesus, the light of the world, the sun who is born, helps the light to begin to grow again. And I love it. This is sort of naturally, this the earth kind of tells the gospel story, and the Celts are like, oh yeah, we get it. And this is probably why, even to this day, we celebrate the birth of Jesus in this time of year. And I love it because here in the north in Minnesota, it is absolutely the darkest and coldest time of year, the winter solstice. And we long for the light to begin to grow again, for the days to get a little bit longer, and for light to flood the cosmos. And Jesus is born again in the story, anyway, in this time of year, which is a reminder to us that Jesus is often born in our deepest, darkest, coldest parts of our life. The moments or the places or the areas of your life where you you like things seem so frozen over that it'll never be warm again. Or it's become so hardened, maybe your heart or your way of seeing the world or the way of viewing your neighbor. You need grace and love to meet you there and for light to begin to grow again. And the good news of Jesus this winter and this Christmas is that, yeah, that's right where the light begins to grow, right in those dark places, and the earth tells the story. So, yeah, what is your deep darkness? And where have you frozen over that you could use the rebirth of the sun, the S-O-N, uh, and the S-U-N, I guess too, but the S-O-N in your life. And where do you need to see the sun begin to grow again? Where do you need grace and mercy and love and hope to be uh to be born once again in you this Christmas? And may it be true. May you experience the sun, the S-O-N, in a new and fresh way, as he's born into the darkest place of your life today in this uh this advent in this Christmas. Alright, love you guys. Peace. Hey, if you enjoy this show, I'd love to have you share it with some friends. And don't forget you are always welcome to join us in person at Central in Elk River at 8 30, which is our liturgical gathering, or at 10 o'clock, our modern gathering. Or you can check us out online at clcelkriver.org. Peace.