Do you know what the white light in the sky in this photo is? Read on to find out...
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This is a photo taken before dawn. The white light is the planet Venus. It's the brightest of the planets and brighter to us than the stars. According to NASA, at certain times of the year it can be seen in the Eastern sky in the hour before dawn. It disappears from our sight once the sun begins to rise.
Traditionally Venus was called "the morning star". Once you saw the morning star appear in the night sky, you knew that the sunrise was only about an hour away. For that reason, Venus was sometimes referred to as the 'dawn-bringer'.
The 'dawn-bringer' was seen as a fitting title for Jesus too. Jesus' repeated message during his public ministry was that the Kingdom of God was at hand. Jesus announced what was around the corner. He was also the one 'bringing in' what was around the corner. This was true in the time of Jesus' life on earth and it's also true of Jesus now and the 'end times'. Jesus heralds God's new dawn, and he also 'brings-in' that new day that he is announcing. Rather like Venus!
Since there's a similarity between the role of Venus and the role of Jesus as the Messiah, an ancient title for Jesus was therefore "the Morning Star". (Another ancient title for Jesus was 'Star of the East'. This could refer either to Venus or to the sun itself as both appear in the East in the night sky. Either way, the title links Jesus with the dawn.)
A new day is on the way. A better day. Hope is here. Light is coming to those sat in darkness. Warmth and healing are coming to those who need it. We read of two 'dawn' prophecies about Jesus in the Bible:
"The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light;
those who lived in a land of deep darkness -
on them light has shined."
Isaiah 9:2
"But for you who revere my name the sun of righteousness shall rise
with healing in its wings."
Malachi 4:2
(Do you recognise that last phrase from a Christmas carol? It's describing Jesus rising in the sky like Venus or the sun at dawn.)
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Is there a morning over the coming week when you can sit looking out the window when you first get up? Depending on how early you get up, you'll catch different stages of the sunrise. You might not be able to see the rising sun itself but if you sit for a while with a cup of coffee or the like you may be able to watch the sky gradually change colour or the moon disappear. Does this help you contemplate Jesus as 'dawn bringer'?
Have you noticed that the Church contemplates Jesus as Morning Star on the shortest and therefore darkest day of the year? Who do you know who is currently living in a land of deep darkness? Perhaps you could pray for them. Perhaps Jesus' light and hope could shine on them through you...
In future, if you ever experience night turning into day, you might use this experience to remind yourself that you are living in God's new dawn, and that the second coming and fulfilment of God's kingdom are only round the corner.
Advent antiphon for 21st December:
O Morning Star,
splendour of light eternal and sun of righteousness:
Come and enlighten those who dwell in darkness
and the shadow of death.