Light is a reality that is often taken for granted in most parts of the developed world. This is not so in most parts of the developing world where light energy is still a luxury commodity. In my part of the world, where most people don’t have the privilege of enjoying light for twenty-four hours a day, the coming of light is usually a thing of great joy. So when it is said that light brings joy, many people in my locality perfectly understand.
Joy is the special gift of Christmas. It is brought about by the light that shines upon the world with the birth of the Messiah. Light brings joy because it dissipates the obscurity that darkens our lives. The contemporary world that suffers many forms of existential darkness direly needs this saving light. We live in complex and gloomy times, and joy seems to vanish from many hearts. Hardship, conflicts, wars, and personal struggles with sin and other life complexities combine to make it difficult for many to taste the joyful part of existence. But in the midst of this litany of evils we hear an extraordinary and captivating sound that speaks only of immense joy to the world. It points to a new light and a new hope.
New Light in a Darkened World
The Gospel of today from the prologue of John’s Gospel (1:1-18) presents the birth of Christ as the emergence of a new light into the world. This light has been there in different forms for ages, but people preferred darkness out of ignorance. God who spoke to ages past in different forms has now spoken definitively through His Son who is the light of the divine glory (cf. Heb 1:1-2). The light points the way to new life just as it comes to illumine our darkened existence.
The Gospel of John says, “the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it’’ (John 1:5). Our human life is menaced by myriads of forces of darkness. These forces manifest themselves in various forms and in diverse places. The great message today is that we can overcome all these forces of darkness in our lives only if we turn to the new light born in Bethlehem. So, as long as we remain bound to him, who is the light, no force of darkness can overcome us. This is why we remain joyful. It is a joy emanating from the realization that our Redeemer lives and stands here with us. He is here to enlighten us, to show us the way of life and to accompany us in all our pains and misery.
Messengers of Joy
The Christmas joy is often contagious. Even when one has all the reasons to be sad, one cannot help rejoicing with others. It is really a joy that the world and all its tensions cannot offer, though sometimes they prevent us from attaining it. We are, daily, faced with hard realities that incline us to lose hope and lose balance. If we get too preoccupied with these realities we can hardly find joy. The joy of Christmas is a joy that comes from above. We are all messengers of this joy. The first reading from Isaiah (52:7-10) puts us on that joyful mood when it says: “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of one who brings good news, who heralds peace, brings happiness, proclaims salvation, and tells Zion, ‘Your God is king.” This was a great message of consolation to the post-exilic Israelite/Jewish Community, who rejoiced greatly to hear of God’s return in their midst. In the same way we rejoice because we have hope that our liberation is very near.
The good news that we celebrate is that God has come to visit us in our misery. He brings a new light that indicates the path of true life to us. The birth of Jesus as man is a bold statement that God is now dressed to fight the battle of being human with us and for us. So we make our own the words of Psalm 97 today: “Shout to the Lord all the earth, ring out your joy!” May the light and joy of Christmas come to us and remain with us now and forever!
