HUMBLE LIGHT
“What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race.” – Jn 1:4
How can we find light & meaning this Christmas when there remains much darkness & suffering in the world? How can we truly believe that God came down from heaven, became one of us, conquered all suffering, and changed human history?
Many of us think that the Christmas story is just a magical event or a fairy tale. Or we think that God is a superhero rescuing us from bad things, like a Marvel superhero snapping his finger to redo any bad blips. Rather, the miracle of the incarnation is not yet the resurrection. Jesus became one of us, “vulnerable, weak, dependent, full of limit, suffering.” He was born in a cave, with an animals’ feeding trough for a crib, attended by poor parents, surrounded by shepherds who were crooks (and bad social influencers). Soon after this birth, his family was forced to flee like the millions of refugees and victims of injustice on our planet today. Today, we don’t celebrate the removal of evil, sin, and suffering. We celebrate Emmanuel or God-is-with-us. Joy doesn’t come right away. Our world remains infected, wounded, broken, unjust. Our hearts remain lonely, tired, vulnerable to pain.
What Christmas celebrates is the promise that God-is-with-us, suffering with us, being lonely and grieving with us. This presence redeems because we don’t feel alone. This presence gives us courage, strengthens us, and empowers us. Let me illustrate with a story.
I know a young woman in her late thirties named Mary. She lost her mother to cancer a few years ago. It was very hard for her, but grieving her mom helped her closer to God. She went on retreats, learned to pray, and built a house in Tijuana for a needy family. Two years ago, she entered a convent to become a nun. Six months ago, she was diagnosed with a rare kind of lung cancer, stage four to be exact. She has been fighting it since, by not denying her suffering. She embraced it. She learned to surrender, to give over her trust to God. She said that since God has been with her in every hard part of her life, she trusts that God will be with her every step of the way. Last week, Mary shared that she wished that everyone in the world can feel the love she is receiving, despite the pain. She believes that her suffering allows her to experience such an intense love from God that she cannot but radiate that love to others. Her cup of sorrow is also her cup of gladness, she said as tears streamed down her face. She calls it her painful joy.
Mary shows us that celebrating Christmas means feeling both sorrow and joy in our hearts, letting ourselves be both tired and grateful, lonely and hopeful, letting God be with us where we feel poorest.
Today is more than the birthday of Jesus. It is the celebration of who we are in Christ - children of the light. When we believe that we carry Christ’s inextinguishable light, we can truly rejoice. And we can become a force of good in our world. We can reflect Christ, who is “the light of the human race.”
Lord Jesus be with me where I feel poorest. I trust that this is the place where you will find your manger and shine your light.