By Rev. W. Matthew Broadbent

Guest columnist

The end of the year moves us into the season of darkness, when days shorten and the weather turns hard, wet and cold. California has a softer season of change, but still it comes with longer nights and drearier days.

Most religions have a major holiday that fits into this winter solstice. Ramadan, Hanukkah, Christmas are times of reflection on the human condition that include fasting and feasting, candlelight and darkness, giving and receiving. Each, in its own way, explores the meaning of human existence and our struggle with the powers that hide in the darkness of the soul waiting for enlightenment.

The darkness is not all bad, of course. We require darkness for birth and growth, where the seed germinates in the ground, is planted in the womb and is set in the soul. In the dark lie possibilities for intimacy, rest and healing. One thing the darkness does is draw our world in to the reach of our fingertips. Though the darkness may hinder our sight, it requires from us the use of other senses: hearing, smell, touch and taste.

For some of us, who have lost family members this year, or been frightened by the events of Sept. 11, or struggle to keep our heads above water in the crunch of a contracting economy, we know the darkness of our own moods and of the shadows and sightlessness of depression. This must be why gift giving is so important during this season, when the slightest gestures provide needed light and warmth.

I call it the season of “gifting” when we practice the art of giving ourselves as the gift of love. We have no shortage of stuff in our homes, but we crave the appreciation of others in our lives. It is like a candle in the darkness. After our eyes have adjusted to the gloom, the flame lights the whole room, softens the edges of our grief and pushes back the boundary of our fear.

This year, when we have witnessed the massive taking of life, the gifting of life is all the more important. In these days of darkness and waiting it may seem that God’s face is hidden from our sight. But for those of us with a spiritual inclination, the sacred presence is there, breathing in the shadows.

This is the gifting of life itself whispering hope in the night of a new day coming.

Bless the darkness. Within is the gift.

The Rev. W. Matthew Broadbent is with the Foothills Congregational Church in Los Altos.