Strange, peculiar, unique, different - you can use these words along with more colorful versions to describe Christmas 2020. Like the rest of this year, we have had to adjust, cancel, postpone, and be creative with our observance of Christ’s birth. Some of this comes by our choice, but most of it is beyond our control. Ever present, the deadly COVID virus continues to call most of the shots.
Along with the changes this Christmas comes a host of emotions. To name a few: sorrow, sadness, anger, disappointment, discomfort, loneliness, and frustration. For the better part of the year, we have been on a rollercoaster of such feelings. We might find ourselves wanting to skip Christmas altogether. I can understand the desire to wait to next December when things get back to normal.
But that would be a mistake. Celebrating Christmas in the midst of challenges and hardship presents a wonderful opportunity. This year, we get to focus on what’s most important about the angel’s message to the shepherds, which lit up the darkness of that night on the hills surrounding Bethlehem.
Luke tells the story that the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see - I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.”
Luke’s words are certainly familiar ones. We have grown accustomed to hearing them as we gather on Christmas Eve for candlelight worship. You might even read them as part of a family tradition. In some households the youngest child is given the honor of reading it, while in others, the oldest gets the privilege. Thanks to the gift of Charles M. Schultz Peanuts cartoons, Linus recited these words into our common TV memory.
As powerful as Luke’s Christmas announcement is, it is usually placed alongside so many other holiday words that it is all too easy for it to be lost in the hustle and bustle of the busiest time of the year. There are many distractions and much noise in what we have come to label as “normal” Christmastime. We might hear the angel’s message but do we really listen to it? Do we receive it like the shepherds once did in the midst of a night filled with fright?
Enter 2020 and the night of our shared experience. When we consider the discouraging feelings struggled and juggled through this year, the grief and sorrow endured, and the inescapable death tally, the metaphor of deep darkness certainly applies to the life we have lived. As the night of pandemic lingers, we yearn for the dawn of a new day - a time when we won’t need masks or to refrain from hugging, when we can get close together and we gather as we once did. We need to hear good news from heavenly sources.
The angel’s message begins with encouragement - “FEAR NOT!” No matter how dark the night is that surrounds, fear not - for the light of God continues to shine. God joins us in our isolation, separation, and brokenness. We are not alone. Isaiah’s prophesy is fulfilled anew: “the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light: those who lived in a land of deep darkness - on them light has shined (Isa. 9:2).”
Think about that… let those words seep into the darkest corners of your life. God’s light reaches out to you, brightening and revealing all that lurks where fear festers and reigns. God’s love pushes away that which destroys and leads to despair and violence. Here we find hope. No matter how uncertain the future might be, it contains the possibility of restoration and new life. Resurrection awaits.
Light dawns on a weary world as the angel’s Christmas proclamation is spoken and heard. Fear not - for us (all people- not a single one excluded, even the ones we dislike) Jesus is born. Wrapped in bands of cloth, lying in a manger, Mary’s child comes to us as a gift. In Jesus, we find an alternative way of life, full of grace and compassion, mercy and kindness, humility and service. The light of his life opens a path through the night, where we can courageously walk.
So let us go to Bethlehem to see this thing that has come to pass. With receptive ears lets us hear not only the angel’s words but also know and understand the promise they contain that God remains with us. By Christmas’s light, let us also see our way to the life God offers. Heading in the direction of God’s light, we live out our baptismal identity as children of the light. We become not only the recipients of Christmas joy but also the bearers. Lord knows, and after 2020 we do too, that we could all use more light.
In Christ’s Light - Merry Christmas!
Pastor Walt
P.S. HAVE YOU SIGNED UP?
On Christmas Day, we start a new daily devotional that I’ve put together. It contains an Inspirational Image, a few questions to ponder, and a prayer for each of the twelve days of Christmas. It comes to you as a gift from the St. James Lutheran community. CLICK here to sign up. Want more information? (click here)