Every year at this time, the old annual debate comes out over whether we ought to greet one another with "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays." To the point where these memes come forward:
{source }
We Christians want ownership over the winter holiday season; we long for the days gone by when Christmas overwhelmed all of society and brought people together. We believe in our heart of hearts the Jesus came to bring peace on earth, and if folks would accept the Christmas spirit into their lives, this would make for a better more peaceful society. Our intentions are, primarily, good.
In truth, the history of Christmas reveals that we did not invent the season. For millennia, not just generations, not just centuries, not even just a thousand years, but for millennia societies have been celebrating a holiday during this the second to last week of December. When Christianity took hold in the Roman Empire, the celebration of Christmas replaced Saturnalia, an entirely pagan holiday.
It is entirely on purpose that Christians chose the Winter Solstice to celebrate the birth of the Messiah. The Winter Solstice is the time at which the earth leans furthest away from the sun, and we resultantly receive the shortest amount of daylight and the longest night of the year.
As I write this blog, the weather here in Fort Mill could not be cooperating in a better way. It is gloomy, dark, and rainy - a perfect reminder that today in fact we celebrate the Winter Solstice, meaning the longest night of the year occurred last night.
We are a people shrouded in the darkness of winter, and it can take its toll. The darkness and the frenzy and the gloom of the weather can contribute to our downtrodden moods, and we are reminded of sour memories, loved ones no longer with us, and ongoing troubles. I am humorously reminded of the Sunday Night Live sketch in which Dana Carvey sings to the tune of Carol of the Bells, "Leave me alone, just go away, I'm doing fine, just go away."
This sketch was so successful because it was a humorous display of sadly accurate truth. The darkness of winter seeps into our bones and builds barriers in our relationships. And in a world full of divorce, debt, war, violence, and illness, we are a people who are familiar with the darkness of winter, with the longest night, with the gloom of despair. People all around the world feel the darkness of our planet; it is an essential truth of this time of year. In a morose way, we are drawn together by our mutual shade.
The light in the darkness...
This darkness is why Christians 1500 years ago chose to celebrate the birth of Messiah at this time. The gospel of John begins in this way:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
The darkness. These words speak to me at this time of year because the Solstice brings with it the gloom of darkness. In Pittsburgh, we have 300 cloudy days per year. Yes, that's right 300 {you can see I flew south...}. This time of year marks the gloomiest time of year for many cities, and today, it marks us in Fort Mill.
It seems to me that I have read this passage hundreds of times, but the image of darkness in my mind was always something simple. My childhood friends and I used to play a game called "Darkman" when we would turn the lights off in a room and play tag. The darkness brought thrill and excitement, and there was always the safety of being able to turn on the light.
True darkness is another matter. Years ago, I had the opportunity to go spelunking with a group of college students. The leader brought us to one of the larger caverns in the cave and then instructed us to turn off our head lamps. The darkness that followed was different than anything else I had ever experienced. It was thick, inky, and smothering. You couldn't see shadows or shades or even your own hand in front of you. No, the darkness was absolute.
This darkness will occasionally spread its shade across our souls. In loss, in anxiety, in disease, in a lack of hope - we are acquainted with this kind of darkness, and we do our best to cast light on it or suppress it.
Yet scripture here reminds us that Jesus is the light which shines into that darkness, the light which penetrates the thick darkness, which brings form and substance to the world around us. This absolute darkness may well exist, but the absolute light of Jesus Christ overcomes it. In just a few short days, we will read this scripture at our Christmas Eve services and utilize many symbols to remind us of the light of Christ bursting into the darkness. I can see nothing more appropriate than celebrating the return of light into a dark and weary world as nature itself does the same thing.
Individuals all over the world today are celebrating the sunrise after the longest night, knowing that the sun, the light brings hope for a brighter tomorrow, literally. Thousands of people gathered at Stonehenge last night to greet the sun as it rose after the long night. We too will gather on Thursday to greet a different kind of Son, who brings a different kind of light.
My prayer...
My prayer for us today is that we would approach this holiday season as people of the light, people who bring light where there is darkness, rather than people who contribute to darkness with cynical thoughts and angry words. I pray that we might care less about what holiday each person is celebrating and care more about the revelation of the light in new and different ways in a broken and weary world. I pray that along with Christians who recognize the light as Jesus and those who acknowledge the light in a different way, we would receive the light into the world with open arms and allow it to illuminate for us the hope, joy, peace, and love that the world so desperately needs.
I wish each and every one of you the happiest of Christmas holidays, and I pray that you would indeed experience the light of Christ in this dark winter time.
Here's some info on the Winter Solstice:
I love this :)
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