Finding hope at Christmas

In the Northern Hemisphere, Christmas falls close to the shortest and darkest day of the year. Where I live, darkness creeps in so early in the Christmas season that it takes me by surprise almost every year. This darkness is in stark contrast to the bright and shiny celebrations we see in the Christmas commercials and movies that are broadcast nearly 24/24 during the Advent season. It can be easy to be drawn to this “all sparkle, no sadness” image of Christmas, but if we're honest, we recognize that it doesn't resonate with our experience. For many of us, this Christmas season will be tense with commitments, relationship conflicts, tax constraints, loneliness, or grief over loss and grief.

It is not unusual for our hearts to feel a sense of sadness and despair during these dark days of Advent. And we shouldn't feel ashamed about it. We do not live in a world free from pain and struggle. And God does not promise us a path free from the reality of loss and pain. So if you are struggling this Christmas, know that you are not alone. Indeed, you are in good company. In the days before Jesus' first advent, the psalmist found himself in a pit of darkness and despair. We don't know the details of his pain or affliction, but we do know that he trusted God enough to cry out to him in his suffering and expect God to hear his prayer and answer.

"I wait for the Lord, my whole being awaits,
and in his word I place my hope.
I wait for the Lord
more than the watchmen wait for the morning,
more than the watchmen wait for the morning ”(Psalm 130: 5-6).
That image of a guardian waiting for the morning has always struck me. A guardian is fully aware and attuned to the dangers of the night: the threat of invaders, wild animals and thieves. The guardian has reason to be scared, anxious and alone as he waits outside on guard night and all alone. But in the midst of fear and despair, the guardian is also fully aware of something far more certain than any threat from the dark: the knowledge that the morning light will come.

During Advent, we remember what it was like in those days before Jesus came to save the world. And although today we still live in a world marked by sin and suffering, we can find hope in the knowledge that our Lord and his comfort are with us in our suffering (Matthew 5: 4), which includes our pain (Matthew 26: 38), and who, in the end, overcame sin and death (John 16:33). This true Christmas hope is not a fragile hope dependent on the sparkle (or lack thereof) in our present circumstances; instead, it is a hope founded on the certainty of a Savior who came, dwelt among us, redeemed us from sin and who will come again to make all things new.

Just as the sun rises every morning, we can be sure that even during the longest, darkest nights of the year - and in the midst of the most difficult of the Christmas seasons - Emmanuel, "God with us," is close. This Christmas, may you find hope in the certainty that "the light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it" (John 1: 5).