Star Light, Star Bright
“What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” – Jn 1:4-5
I’ve been getting a lot of uncle time these past days with my three-year-old niece, Emily. Like most kids her age, she says some of the funniest and sweetest things—all earnestly from the heart. Here’s the latest. When my forty-one-week-pregnant sister asked her if she thought baby Peter would be born on Christmas Day—like Jesus—Emily said with all sincerity that we would lay him in a cradle and a star would shine over him. She quickly followed with, “Mama, you are Mary. Papa is Joseph. And I’m the star shining on him.”
During these last weeks of Advent, I’ve been tempted to focus on the various forms of darkness that seek to rob us of genuine joy. Every Christmas, injustice, suffering, pain, sin, and darkness threaten to make our joyful celebration seem empty, devoid of meaning and purpose. Perhaps many of us feel that more deeply this year, but some of us—maybe all of us—have known other hard Christmases, other times when the beautiful words of today’s Gospel rang hollow. But I’ve been slowly learning that the truth of our faith is that God always comes to meet us not when it makes sense to us, but right here and right now in the midst of whatever darkness we’re experiencing to let light shine through.
Today, we don’t celebrate the removal of evil, sin, and suffering. We celebrate Emmanuel—God-is-with-us. Christmas celebrates the promise that God-is-with-us, suffering with us, being lonely and grieving with us. It gives us space to hold the broken and beautiful pieces of our world and lives so that we may allow our loving God to be with us. And this presence redeems because we don’t feel alone. This presence is born to inspire courage, to strengthen and empower us to let God’s light shine onto others through us, through our acts of love. How we allow the light of God's love to shine through will give greater radiance and meaning to our life and the lives of those around us. It may not always be the intense brightness of the sun, but perhaps the gentle glow of the moon…or the twinkle of a star.
Lord Jesus, help me make room in my heart for you to be with me wherever I find myself today. I trust this is the place where you long to be born and reveal your humble life and light.
David Romero, SJ
P.S. Pope Francis began the Jubilee Year of Hope last night at the Christmas Eve Mass and offered this inspiring homily.