Each December we're granted a special occasion to look back and look forward. Sure, we can do this anytime of the year, as the author Lore Wilbert says "Mondays and Januarys and birthdays and Septembers. I am always searching for excuses to begin again again." Me too.
But for me, nothing allows such excuse than Christmas. It's hopeful and reflective nature gives perfect opportunity for rumination about what has been and what could be. What did I learn this year? What do I hope for the year at my doorstep? That kind of thing. Although I'm not an optimistic person by nature, I enjoy looking forward to what's ahead, all while keeping my eyes fixed on the rearview mirror of the past.
And this past year has given us all lots to mull over, hasn't it? I have to say, this time around, reflecting seems strange because every part of it's "unprecedented"-ness still feels ever so present.
With the many shut-downs my calendar has been scant but my physche has been stocked. Stocked with a lot of things. But most consistently - weariness.
It's been a dark year in many ways, but there is no need to recount all the ways it was dark. We all know. We're still in it. The weariness is still present.
This year of testing isn't over yet and although the memes about kicking 2020 in the butt as it leaves are starting to make their rounds, the realities of this year will most certainly bleed into the next. Nothing particularly special will happen when the clock strikes 12pm on January 1st, 2021. We will still wake up in the morning to a pandemic and all its many complications.
However with Christmas, in comes that special opportunity.
For me, one of the most staggering verses in the whole Bible is Luke 1:49a, "For he who is mighty has done great things for me." This comes from the song (magnificat) sung by Mary the mother of Jesus. She didn't sing it after Jesus was born but while he was still nestled inside her belly. She didn't utter it after he died and rose again. Nor did she recite it after reflecting on his transfiguration. No - in the midst of her unprecedented predicament - being young, unwed, pregnant and Jewish - she sang these hopeful words.
The Lord had done great things for her. And she new it while darkness was all around her.
This is what Christmas does. It reminds us of what we so desperately need to remember. In the darkness, in the suffering, in the relentless ache of weariness - He who is mighty has done great things for me. And for you. As he did for Mary.
Tim Keller in his book Hidden Christmas says...
"Christmas shows you a God unlike the god of any other faith. Have you been betrayed? Have you been lonely? Have you been destitute? Have you faced death? So had he! Some say, "You don't understand. I have prayed to God for things, and God ignored my prayer." In the garden of Gethsemane Jesus cried out, "Father...may this cup be taken from me" (Matthew 23:39) and he was turned down. Jesus knows the pain of unanswered prayer. Some say, "I feel like God has abandoned me." What do you think Jesus was saying on the cross when he said, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me" (Matthew 27:46)?
What does this mean? The very act of the incarnation was for more than our salvation. It was for our comfort. Knowing in the midst of our very present struggle that we have a God who knows it personally gives a kind of relief we otherwise couldn't have. Christmas comes around each year to remind us that no other god does this kind of thing. No other god not only wants to rescue us but also relate directly to mere mortal pain. This is absolutely unheard of in any other religion and it's the reason Christmas is so absurdly wonderful.
The faith of a lowly, young virgin, is the the faith all mankind is called to embody. The faith that gave her the courage to say, "let it be to me according to your word" knowing full-well that word would put her life in danger.
The light came down into a dark place.
And we continue to feel its ever-present darkness. If this year has taught us anything, it is the unpredictability of the world around us. Yet however unstable you may have felt, Christmas is here to stabilize any residual fear. Take comfort - the Saviour knows all too well, what you've been through. Which means it's time to rest.
Rest and sing.
As the Christmas hymn It Came Upon A Midnight Clear says...
All ye beneath life's crushing load Whose forms are bending low Who toil along the climbing way With painful steps and slow
Look now for glad and golden hours Come swiftly on the wing O rest beside the weary road And hear the angels sing
The light of the world has done great things for me and for you. Even this year.
And no matter what happens next year, the same will be true then.
Mary is singing. The angels are singing. Let's sing with them.