Each year, the seasons of Advent and Christmas take on a little different meaning or emphasis for me. Currently I find myself engaged by the mysteries of light appearing in the darkest time of the year and of the day, of new birth coming out of a void, and of chaos surprisingly giving rise to new forms of order.

I ponder what it is that darkness, the void, and chaos have in common. Is it that in these conditions, we are less in control, more available, more open to the unknown, more able to "see" something new or to allow the unexpected to happen? As I contemplate the night sky, the quiescent fields, the miracle of birth, the fascinating ordering and reordering of life around me, I am grasped anew by the power of what is little valued in our world - the darkness, the empty spaces, the patient waiting, the turbulence in nature and in ourselves - the power of birthing new life.

Hope, born on that long ago Christmas, still resounds throughout our world, reminding us that light and darkness, emptiness and fullness, chaos and order, are forever united in the mystery of God's love.