“O Little Town of Bethlehem” has a wonderful line.
The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight
This is a time when we celebrate
It's Christmas.
Here in the northern hemisphere, the days, very slowly at first, start to become longer. But it’s dark as well. We live in a time of wondering what's going to happen next, a time of, for many, of fear, a time of uncertainty.
It’s a time when the gap between this and the world to come seems wider than ever. And yet, for those with eyes to see, a more porous time. A time when anything can happen. We say this is a time for children, but maybe that's because children see all things as possible in a way adults don't.
Even a time when God can come to earth.
A time when maybe, if you listen carefully, you can hear the angels sing.
When we remember that once in the shadows of our world, the light was born into the world.
That light was God’s messenger to the world who says:
I love you and will never leave you alone.
That light was God
- the Son himself,
- born as a human being
- God knows what it means to be human.
That light shines in the darkness, and it never goes out.
And darkness has never understood it, and can never overcome it.
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