Oh, Sun who is born from above, Radiance of the Eternal Light, Sun of justice, come now to enlighten those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death!
Christ is the light, the sun that rises from the east and that comes to illuminate those who are in the darkness. This antiphon reminds us, first of all, that Christmas was established from the first centuries of Christianity on December 24 to 25, to replace the pagan festival of sol invictus, the festival of the sun that conquers darkness, since that from December 24 the days begin to get longer gradually, to there being more light to the detriment of darkness.
And, on the other hand, in addition to this syncretic purpose, the festival is established from the 24th to the 25th December to point out that Christ is the true sun that rises from above and that has defeated the darkness of sin and death.
Curiously, Saint Augustine thought that the date of Christ’s birth, from the 24th to the 25th of December, not only had a syncretic purpose —that is, to abolish a pagan festival and put a Christian festival in its place—, but actually, and from a historical perspective, Christ was born on that night.
In fact, in one of his Christmas sermons, Sermon 190:1, Saint Augustine points out that men can choose the day to get married or the day to start making a building, but that no one can choose the day of his birth, nor choose his mother. Christ, on the other hand, as God and Lord, had not only chosen the day of his birth, on December 25, but also to his mother.
Beyond this Augustinian belief, with which not even the historians nor contemporary exegetes, what Saint Augustine wants to highlight is that Christ is the new Sun that is born from above, and that comes to illuminate all men.
The churches in the time of Saint Augustine -also in the Middle Ages and in the Renaissance-, they were oriented, that is, they were placed facing the east, towards the east, point where the sun rises.
The east, that is, the cardinal point from which the sun rises, had an important role in the time of Saint Augustine, since, when the catechumens made their renunciations to Satan, they had to look towards the west, that is, towards the point where the sun sets, where the Devil was thought to have his abode. And when they made their profession of faith, they turned around and looked towards the east, that is, towards the point where the sun, to show that they had turned from the works of darkness to the works of light (cf. Sermon 216, 10).
On the other hand, Saint Augustine always ended his sermons with a beautiful prayer that it has been collected in some of his oratory pieces. This sentence begins with words “Turning towards the Lord”. Some specialists affirm that when they prayed this prayer—as a sign that the first part of the liturgy had ended and that the unbaptized had to leave the church—everyone got up and turned toward East. That is why the prayer explicitly says: “turned towards the Lord”, that is looking towards the east, which is the point where the sun rises, which symbolizes Christ, bye bye. The prayer is the following:
“Turning to the Lord, God the omnipotent Father, let us give to Him with a pure heart, as much as we our smallness allows it, the most grateful and sincere thanks, asking your particular goodness of him, with all our strength, may he deign to hear our prayers according to his good pleasure and also remove with his power the enemy of all our thoughts and works; may he increase our faith, govern our minds, give us spiritual thoughts and lead us to his blessedness through his Son Jesus Christ, Our Lord, who lives and reigns with Him, God, in unity of the Holy Spirit, for all centuries of centuries. Amen.” (Commentary on Psalm 150, 8).
In this time of Advent, may we allow ourselves to be illuminated by the Sun that rises from the east, through Christ the Lord, so that he fills our lives with the clarity and warmth of God.
