This month’s letter to the parish is from Rev Sue:
When we think about the meaning of Christmas inevitably the Christmas readings are interpreted for us by the carols we know so well, and the images on Christmas cards that illustrate them. One major theme is the light coming into darkness. The verse of the Christmas gospel reading from John chapter 1 “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it” becomes “yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting light” and the many depictions of the infant Jesus radiating light such as the Adoration of the Shepherds, by Gerard van Honthorst (Google it to see!)
In the northern hemisphere Christmas Day is one of the darkest days of the year – less than seven and half hours of daylight here. In the country farmers will be milking twice a day in the dark, in the city commuters will only see their homes in daylight at weekends and holidays. For many the lack of sunlight has brought increasingly low spirits, and the celebration of Christmas brings joy to an otherwise depressing season.
This year there is the added irony that the town of Bethlehem is situated not far from the scenes of horror and devastation in and around the Gaza strip. The darkness is very apparent – the light is harder to see. This is nothing new – the violence is there, too, in the Bible stories – the babies that King Herod had killed in an attempt to get rid of Jesus. However, he did not succeed – because Mary and Joseph became refugees in Egypt until it was safe to go home.
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it”.
Another carol springs to mind. “Pray ye dutifully prime your matin chime, ye ringers”. Matins began as a service of readings and psalms said by monks and nuns at 2am in the very heart of the night, and some still do. They pray for themselves, for the world and for us at the time of greatest darkness when the spirits of those who cannot sleep are at their lowest. They consciously bring the light of Christ to bear on the darkness of night.
Christmas is not a time for escaping from the darkness – that never works, because however much we seek to evade it and bury it beneath presents and decorations, food and drink, Christmas films and sentimental music, it is still there. If we don’t expose the darkness, the light cannot shine in it. This Christmas make a promise to yourself to acknowledge the darkness of personal pain and grief and the shared anguish of the events we read and hear about in the news. Tell God your concerns and your sadness and then lay them down at the manger. When you have done that celebrate! Give thanks for the love of family and friends, for the abundance of food and drink we can enjoy, and, of course for the worship that for Christians adds an extra dimension and depth to our gladness. Remind yourself with faith and hope:
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it”.
St Margaret's Church Prestwich 