CREEDE HINSHAW: The glory of the birth announcement in Bethlehem

These days before Christmas are grey and brief; sunrise to sunset is slightly less than 10 hours, leading to the winter solstice. Days of sunshine and blue sky can be glorious, but days of fog, chill and damp can make one yearn for springtime.

Every day, however, can be a day of blessing if we pay attention. The hearts of many are turned these days to the grandest of miracles: the incarnation, God becoming human at the stable in Bethlehem. To meditate and marvel on this great gift can bring joy and comfort on the worst of days.

I am also heartened by the world all around me, the simpler gifts that God has given. The fog and mist in their own ways offer a beautiful, mysterious sheen, sharpening the colors available in this season. Many red, yellow and golden leaves yet adorn the trees, and after the last leaf has fallen, the branches themselves will offer stark, simple beauty.

Have you paid attention lately to the droplets of water gathered on Georgia’s waxy green leaves, turning ordinary shrubs into repositories of shining jewels? Have you admired the red berries, displayed in profusion, of the holly and the nandina?

My wife and I live in a home built in the early 1950s. A previous homeowner, nameless to us, planted dozens upon dozens of camellias on our property. I am so grateful to this person who has given us this gift; every December and January we enjoy the beauty of these fecund flowering shrubs – gorgeous flowers in various hues and combinations of pink, red and white with their yellow stamens.

In this same season, the leaves on our forsythia turn beautiful shades of brown, gold and ochre, a burnished contribution to the treasure surrounding those who will pay attention. These leaves remind me that in just a few short months the slender forsythia stalks will be heavy with delicate yellow flowers.

In the heavens these nights, I’ve been watching and blessed by the planets. Dull red Mars has been slowly making its way across the sky. Even more fascinating, Saturn and Jupiter, such far away planets, seem to be drawing closer and closer to each other in their orbits around the sun. They draw rather close to each other (so it seems from our perspective) every two decades, say the astronomers, an event called the great conjunction. (I vaguely remember learning about conjunctions not in science, but in elementary school grammar.)

This year’s Jupiter-Saturn reunion will be noteworthy, because on Monday, the winter solstice, these two planets will appear closer together than they’ve been since 1623. If you want an even grander marker, it will be the closest they’ve been visible since 1226.

Is this conjunction the basis for Matthew’s Christmas star? Nobody knows for sure, but in these days of darkness, I am reminded that both heaven and earth are telling the glory of God, no announcement greater than the birth announcement in Bethlehem.