St. James Episcopal Church
Greeneville, TN
For Christians, our celebration of Christmas is only 7 days old. We still have 5 more days, and it would be nice if the rest of the world would celebrate with us. Some will. But for many folks, the tree is already out with the trash or has been packed up and stored away for the next year. They’re all packed up and ready to move on.
The Twelve Days of Christmas are intended not only as days of celebration but also as days of reflection. These days, we can reflect on the great things God has done for us by coming to be with us and becoming one of us.
The prologue that opens the Gospel according to John sets the stage for a new world order at the beginning of creation with the presence of God’s Word. The same WORD that spoke all of creation into existence, the WORD that was there with Isaiah and the prophets of old…
And now, according to the stoic philosophy of John that WORD was made flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth. And John writes. “In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” If Jesus was the light that shined in the darkness, then Jesus helps us see what was hidden in the dark. The things that society tries to deny and cover-up. Things like poverty, disease, the marginalized, and the forgotten.
We know that Jesus went about in his ministry healing, restoring, and loving those who were unloved and those seen by society as sinful and excluded. Jesus brings light to their darkness. Once in a while, we actually get a glimpse of what God is doing among us. And occasionally, the light shines so brightly in the darkness that nothing can dim it. Once in a while, people feel this upwelling of joy in their hearts, and they don’t even know where it comes from.
These days of Christmas call us to celebrate, re-order, and perhaps re-frame our lives so we can live differently. So that we might live Christmas all year long. Not because it’s time for New Year resolutions but because Jesus has come to live among us to show us the way.
As this year ends, we think about everything that has happened around us this past year. The world continues to be in turmoil, and we in the US are included. We are just starting to come back from the COVID slump that lasted almost three years, and it’s not entirely over yet. I’m not sure it ever will be as it becomes our new normal. Many of the things that we rely on for our security have all but vanished. So, amid our lowliness, our Lord appears among us in the time of our testing. The light shines in our darkness.
God enters our hearts and minds with a love that cannot be extinguished. God offers us a guide to faith and salvation that no social issue or economic problem can ever erase. God takes our bafflement and our disappointments and redeems them with new insights.
Where have we been living if the light truly shines in the darkness? We have chosen the dark over the light. We have chosen to live on credit and beyond our means as a nation and a people. We have forgotten that there is always a price for greed – a price to be paid by all of us.
But through the darkness comes the great light, the great light of the incarnate WORD. The WORD that was made flesh that lived among us. And in the dark – even in complete darkness you can always find little glimmers of light as the little glimmers of God’s grace shine through.
There is a story from a few years back about a neighborhood shelter in a financial crisis. The grant money that usually supported the shelter had dried up, and the place many relied on for a daily meal faced imminent closure. A local rabbi came to see the director and asked, “Why are you closing?” “We’re out of money, rabbi,” she said. “Well,” he replied, “then go get some!” She looked at him oddly for a moment and then realized she hadn’t considered any alternatives. In a month, with the rabbi’s help, seven churches and a synagogue had come together to support the shelter. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
How are we doing as we usher out the old year and bring in the new? Are we simply waiting to see when the next thing will happen? Are we waiting on the sidelines for someone else to do something big and bold? It is time for us to go to work; it’s time to act like the gifted people God created us to be and make a difference in this world. It’s time to be about God’s business in our churches, in our communities, and in our families.
God’s business is committed to redemption and doing things that bring about healing and graciousness in the lives of ALL people. That is what we should be doing because that is what God has done for us when God became flesh and dwelt among us.
Welcome to this middle of the twelve hallowed days of Christmastide! May they be the days you see the Word-made flesh scatter the darkness from before your path and empower you to give light to others.
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