It’s Christmas Eve and I am drawn to childhood memories that surround this special holiday. One thing I remember was attending church the night before Christmas. Everything about that night was special. Besides the obvious coming of Santa Claus that very evening, there was also this quite unusual visit to church. It all seemed so mysterious, dressing up and heading across town when normally it would have been time to head to bed.
And I was always excited knowing that at some point in the evening, I would be handed a little white candle with a cardboard ring around the bottom. Not long after that, someone would light it, and together we would all sing Silent Night. I remember being fixated on the candle that I held diligently in front of me and I knew that it was something special.
“Longest Night” or “Darkest Night” church services are usually held on the longest night of the calendar year, December 21st, or on Christmas Eve and are centered around the birth of Jesus. Other times, however, these services center around quiet prayer and healing as many people find that Christmas can be a painful time.
And so, I wonder how this same service, this darkest night service that always brought me such wonder and joy can be the same service that so many seek out to find solace from the world. From painful memories, lost jobs, lost loved ones, or simply a hard life.
The thing is, whether you view the darkest night from the wonder of a child or from a weary life in need of relief, the message is still the same. A child came to us in the darkest of times, on the darkest of nights, to heal a broken world and give us peace.
And so, this Christmas, when we all sing “all is calm, all is bright” in a world that feels vastly different from that, I hope we can remember the love and peace that is always with us. Tonight we will light a small candle as a reminder of what is to come. Even in our darkest of nights, we welcome the light of the star of Bethlehem and the newborn King bringing peace on Earth and goodwill toward men.
