“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” John 1:1-5

I don’t know where I first heard this story about Marge,  that was tucked away in my Christmas file. 

Marge was terminally ill with cancer. Carolers had come to her home to bring some cheer and comforting words of Christmas carols. 

On an impulse, the leader asked if there was any carol she would like them to sing. Marge, had been a nurse during WWII, at  a prisoner of war camp for German soldiers in Arizona.  She remembered a Christmas Eve when she was working. All the prisoners started to sing Silent Night in their native language. She told the group, that it was one of the most moving experiences of her life. Then she asked if they could sing Silent Night to her in German.

The group’s first impulse was to say they couldn’t, until one caroler began to sing Silent Night in German, while the other carolers hummed along. The teller of the story  said, “I never knew what prompted Marge to ask for that particular carol. Perhaps she was reviewing her life experiences, trying to make sense of it all. All we knew was that in that God-given serendipity of that moment, Christmas arrived.”

 Jesus came into a darkened world.    A world, much like our own, troubled by many things. In Israel, there was bondage to a foreign empire, heavy taxation and immense poverty. Into the darkness of that moment, against a background of despair and loneliness, light and hope were needed. 

The message of Christmas is not simply that Christ came long ago, but that Christ continues to come. Again and again, Christ comes to whomever, and wherever there are those, who will receive the Christ.   Christ comes to us to bring light in our darkness, comfort in our pain and hope enough to last for an eternity.

Prayer:  God of love and peace, as we enter Christmastide, may we recognize and give thanks for holy moments.  Warm our hearts with your love for us, and your love for others.    Amen.

Additional Advent and Christmas  Devotions can be found at:Devotions for Advent to Epiphany