Ye clouds and darkness, hosts of night
That breed confusion and affright,
Begone! o’erhead the dawn shines clear,
The light breaks in and Christ is here.

Earth’s gloom flees broken and dispersed,
By the sun’s piercing shafts coerced:
The daystar’s eyes rain influence bright
And colours glimmer back to sight.

So opens the ‘Morning Hymn’ of the 4th century Christian poet Aurelius Prudentius Clemens. (To read the rest of the poem, click here.)

Aurelius’ poem captures the spirit of the season we are now celebrating, the season of Advent. The hymn reminds us that in the early church the season of Advent was a time when Christians anticipated Christ’s second coming. It was a time when they expectantly waited for Him to come and judge the earth, scattering the darkness with His light.

Boniface’s Challenge to the Powers of Darkness

The theme of light conquering darkness was the message that Boniface took to the ancient Germans in the 8th century.

When Boniface penetrated into the dark forests of Northern Europe, there was little doubt that he was fighting against the principalities and powers of darkness. This was a time when the power of the occult was very strong. But Boniface knew that the power of Christ was stronger. Not only was Boniface unafraid to challenge these dark powers with the light of Christ, but he relished the opportunity to demonstrate the superior power of Christ.

As Boniface boldly marched forward to challenge the raw paganism that surrounded him, he may well have taken courage from singing Aurelius’s Advent hymn, especially the first stanza:

Ye clouds and darkness, hosts of night
That breed confusion and affright,
Begone! o’erhead the dawn shines clear,
The light breaks in and Christ is here.

The theme of God judging dark powers with the light of Christ is now largely absent from our Advent celebrations. Yet this theme is implicit in the long forgotten roots of many of our culture’s Advent traditions, including Advent candles and Advent wreaths.

In an article I published yesterday for Christian Voice, I discussed this very aspect and how it relates to the origins of the Advent wreath. It’s an exciting story, and I would urge you to read about it here.