Christmas
is my favorite holiday. Isaiah is my
favorite Old Testament writer. I was a
Lector at church for over 25 years. Most
years, at Midnight Mass, I read from the Old Testament, always Isaiah.
“The
people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; upon those who dwell in
the land of gloom a light has shown. For
unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given."[i]
What
a wonderful way to be awakened in the first hour of a wonder-filled day. Isaiah, throughout his writings, exhorts us
to awake and to rise up. In the KJV, he tells
us to wakeneth.
I
haven’t been to Midnight Mass in a few years.
The next generation isn’t interested in a midnight service, the earlier one
at 7:00 pm is preferred, if they go at all.
But, I still read Isaiah’s words every Christmas Eve.
Years
ago, I spent the very early hours of Christmas morning working on toys labeled
“some assembly required.” In what seemed
only an hour or two later, little people were jumping on the bed, waking us,
who didn’t want to be woken so early, to start the morning’s festivities. Even after all these years in retirement, I
still seem to wake early, before most others on Christmas morning. By the time they show up, in new pajamas and
robes, I’ve showered and dressed for the day.
I get odd looks all around. It
doesn’t take long for presents to be passed around and opened. Is that the end of Christmas or the
beginning?
Christmas
is really a religious season, which commemorates the birth of a believed God,
not just a one-day event set aside for gift giving. It comes after four weeks of Advent
preparation and continues until Epiphany, twelve days later. It is a time when the words of the
traditional hymn urge to “awake from your slumber, arise from your sleep, for
the Lord of our light and our love has turned the night into day.”[ii] Not enough of us, believers or not, have
woken to the real opportunity to spread that light to others. The promise of Christmas, on a grand scale,
hasn’t been met; too much night and not enough day.
In
small ways though, in small communities and small gatherings, maybe we do awake
to a new dawn. Families gather to celebrate
together, some wake early to serve at food-kitchens for the homeless, others
contribute to Toys for Tots , or invite in those who would otherwise be
alone. Maybe the light does shine
brighter when people keep the Christmas “feeling” throughout the year and not
just on one day. I like Christmas. I like Isaiah. I wish I could awaken my light to shine
brighter for others.
