Weekly Reflection – Sunrise

Canon Philip

Standing at the kitchen sink this morning, I looked out towards Woolley Edge as patches of red colour began to tinge the morning sky. 

Each day is transformed by the rising sun, which brings light and warmth after the darkness and cold of night, just as the year is transformed by the coming of spring.  It’s still cold, and still dark in the mornings, but the glimpses of dawn colour gave me a sense of hope, reminding me the turning of the year is on its way.

Many in our community and in our world feel they are in mid-winter.  We might think immediately of the victims of war in Ukraine, and at home those fearful for their jobs or worried about heating bills.  Maybe you, too, feel wintry, chilled by an illness or bereavement, a worry about a family member or a problem weighing on your mind.

The sunrise over the hills, the gradual onset of spring amid winter, remind us that there is a glimmer of hope and light, of warmth in cold times.  For Christians, hope is found from the birth of a baby in Bethlehem which we celebrated a few weeks ago; the star shining in the night sky a beacon to show us where we must look.  Not all problems can be fixed, not all hurts healed.  But just as we see the sunrise and the spring bringing light and warmth to each day and each year, when it seems like things are bleak and cold, can you see a glimmer of hope and light in your own life or relationships today?

With prayers and best wishes,
Canon Philip