Candles, various

Today was Candlemas, in the church year - the Feast of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple, the day that marks the end of Christmas-tide. Heavy with symbolism, the service in Holy Trinity was a lovely one, ending with everyone holding their candles aloft to be blessed and taken out into the world.

And all through the service, I was thinking of the exhortation that has become a slogan in the last few weeks as Brexit day drew close. Alyn Smith, former MEP and now MP for Stirling, ended his speech to his fellow MEPs in the aftermath of that disastrous referendum with the words:  "I'm asking you to leave a light on so we can find our way home." In the last few days it's become a potent symbol, leaving a light on - remember when you were in your teens, coming home late from some night out, and your parents had left the light on in the hall so that you wouldn't be coming home to the dark? A comforting image of warmth, welcome, reassurance. It's also a sign of trust, confidence that there will be a homecoming.

All that was going through my mind as we thought of the light of Christ, the light of hope and trust in God, the path that led to the Cross. And to me, that didn't seem an inappropriate mingling of ideas. We will come home, even if we have to travel alone.