Our Lady Of Paris
When one looks upon Notre Dame in former photographs and videos, what you see is a towering structure, an architectural feat with intricate carvings and frescos, gigantic stained-glass windows. The first stone was laid in 1163. The famous south rose window was placed in 1255. At her completion the year was 1345, 182 years in total. To stand in her shadow is to look up in awe at the ingenuity, creativity, and sacrifice it took to construct her. The cathedral’s gothic architecture was groundbreaking, particularly in the creation of flying buttresses, those long, spindly external stone supports that bear the weight of stone. This allowed the building to be built taller and narrower, with much larger windows to let in light. When I visited Paris in college I didn’t go inside Notre Dame because the lines were long, and this was a quick trip with much to see. But we certainly walked around her and admired her architecture…though scaffolding was built around it in certain places as these ancient buildings are always under repair and restoration. Over time, I believe what we saw of Notre Dame was a shadow of her former glory. Her interior was dim, her stones gray, her windows clouded, her frescos dull. Now, as the world sees glimpses of the cathedral following her restoration from the 2019 fire, we can truly see what she would have looked like in 1345. The nave is so bright and airy! The stonework is bright, the marble is shining, the frescos are vibrant with colors that don’t seem to exist in the natural world. It has always seemed inspiring, but truly to look upon this structure takes one’s breath away. I cannot imagine standing in the center of her vaulted ceilings hearing her bells ring out over the city!
This is the nature of Advent. In the deep, dark night we wait, we wait for the light to rise and shine all around us. We wait for the coming of the son.
Isaiah 9:2 reads, “The people who have walked in dark have seen a great light: those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death. Upon them a light has shined.” This is also found in Matthew 4:16.
Micah 7:8 says, “Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light.”
1 Peter 2:9 charges us, “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light!”
Like Notre Dame, we stand on the faith of centuries, of the saints who have come before us. Without close attention, time passes and we become a shadow of our former selves. We become covered in the muck and mire of the world. Our light becomes dim. And perhaps, perhaps the flames that threaten to destroy us, come to refine us. And the smoke that threatens to choke us and cover us in ash, comes to redefine us and purify us for the next part of our journey as followers of The Way.
I love that the workers who restored the cathedral are called Companions of Duty. Notre Dame could not be restored to the purest version of itself without the dedication of multitudes of individuals bringing their expertise and craftsmanship to the table. It is the same for us. For our light to shine as a city upon a hill, we too need each other as companions. To remind us of our true colors. To help us reason together, as Isaiah tells us, that though our sins may be scarlet, they shall be made white as snow. As one news article tagged the Cathedral’s story: “From Ashes to Glory”. May it be such a season for us, also.