Trim Your Wicks
I am new to candle care. Last week, I did something I’d never done: I purchased candles for myself to light in my home when praying or meditating and to burn in my office at Trinity when studying or writing. I’m a late bloomer on things like this, I guess.
Lesson one, Jo said: pick a candle that smells good to you but isn’t too strong. Check.
Lesson two: trim you wick. This one surprised me. I thought that that was just something that happened to candles in biblical times.
As December rolls into its later weeks and the days reach their longest point of the year, I often think of the traditional spiritual Keep Your Wicks Trimmed and Burning as a song that speaks of readiness and spiritual practice.
The new church year is upon us, and it is a time of great upheaval in our world. Advent is a season not just of preparation for Jesus, but of trimming the wicks of our hearts, tending to the tender flame of our spirits through nights that are cold and blustery.
Simple acts of spiritual practice go a long way to creating a space for God in this world. Look no further than the opportunities for gratitude and generosity this week and in the weeks to come, from celebrating Thanksgiving this week, to giving generously for Marion-Sterling families, to gathering to pray and sing the hymns of the season.
As I test-drive candles (I’m partial to oak and leather, not so wild about the ones that smell like Christmas trees or potpourri) I find that the calm light changes the space, quietly, as the tiny flame shimmers. And as the space changes, so too, every so slightly, does my heart.
I look forward to joining you in trimming wicks and lighting candles this month.
Faithfully,
The Very Rev. Bernard J. Owens