The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light.
December 20, 2022 Blog
'The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light' (Isaiah 9:1).
In the middle of December we marked the feast of an 11th century Spanish saint, called - John of the Cross. The phrase, DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL is one that he uses often in his writings. In his own day, he experienced darkness when he was imprisoned in a dungeon for his efforts in trying to reform the Carmelite Order.
People have their own personal DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL. It can express itself in many ways: doubt, fear, loneliness, breakup, loss, bereavement, hurt, pain and financial worries.
Ukraine is living through a prolonged DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL. The people in Creeslough shared a DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL. The family and Battalion of Private Seán Rooney from Donegal who recently died as a UN Peacekeeper in the Lebanon know their own DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL. Refugees, migrants and the homeless live a permanent DARK NIGHT OF THE SOUL.
On the 21st of December, we have the Winter Solstice - the shortest day of the year. Solstice means 'sun stands still'. It is when the world becomes darker - an inner light of the soul shines. That is the light we discover in our own depths. It is a spark of life and speck of light that connects us to one other and to the soul of the world.
Christmas stops us in our tracks because God shares his life and love with us through the lives of Mary and Joseph, along with a few nameless shepherds. Time is eternity in disguise. Christmas reminds us to glory in the simplicity and wonder of one day: 'TODAY IN THE TOWN OF DAVID, A SAVIOUR HAS BEEN BORN TO YOU' is the message to the shepherds from the Angels. This message is for each one of us also. O THAT TODAY YOU WOULD LISTEN…..
Christmas is about learning how to kneel before a newborn baby, who is helpless, poor, vulnerable and despised. It is about inverting the world's values. It is about understanding that our Christian lives can be lived with or without a religious creed. Christmas calls on us to protect and nurture the least and the last among us and to pray and to protest for the lost and the lowest in our world.
Christmas is where Christianity begins! It calls us to be open to the surprising and the unexpected ways of God. This makes Christmas a radical time for a revolution of our hearts. Christmas upsets, subverts, reverses and transforms: HE HAS BROUGHT DOWN THE MIGHTY FROM THEIR THRONES AND LIFTED UP THE LOWLY. HE FILLS THE HUNGRY AND SENDS THE RICH AWAY EMPTY. These are the words of Mary, the mother of Jesus, who recognises and rejoices in GOD AS HER SAVIOUR.
Christ's birth reminds us of the eternal new beginning that God offers to us today. Each one of us is a unique expression of God's love,. We are capable of being full of grace, truth, love, joy and peace. May we always be open to welcome the presence of God in all things.
