Christmas Day Mass, Isaiah 52:7-10; Hebrews 1:1-5; John 1:1-18
The Light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.
This verse is a token of hope today when too many people surrender to fear, doubt or passivity.
We are indeed confronted by formidable obstacles. A glance at the news reminds us that brutality and violence serve self-interest, power or defensiveness. Politicians are incapable of listening to an opinion different from their own or seeking consensus; our nation and our Church are torn by polarization. We may try to escape into empty distractions or form tribes of like-minded closed-mindedness, but isn’t that another form of darkness?
Do I so easily forget the blessings God has already brought out of struggle or tragedy in my life, blessings I only see in retrospect? Can’t I recognize how God’s invisible hand illuminates my stumbling steps through the shadows of life?
I propose that today we celebrate that tangible revelation of God active in our human mess. Let us draw upon that divine engagement and plant the seeds we are given to plant and embrace hope for their harvest—a harvest that is probably not ours to enjoy but invaluable for future generations. Let us support one another in discouragement or provide one another the rest that regenerates or help bear the burden of the weary—for today hope, not optimism, is born. We have hard work ahead, but the divine Light would guide us should we look to it.
In that Light, shining in the darkness, and only in the hope that Light can generate, do I wish you a blessed Christmas and the unfolding of the incarnate Lord’s life and love in our lives.