Dear Friends:
Imagine a homeless couple filled with anxiety as they seek shelter on these cold winter nights, only to be told there is no room. I knew of one such family. After being turned down by relatives and discovering that there was no room in the shelters, someone gave them an unheated garage. They were without heat for three very cold nights before they were given a kerosene heater. When I asked how they and their ten year old son survived, they answered, “Jesus spent the nights with us.”
God sent his son into the world to spend cold and dark nights of the soul with all of humanity. This glorious Gift came while we were still blind, and through his love our eyes were opened to the holy gifts of salvation, grace, and hope. We came to know that darkness is not dark to the Babe, and that in the end divine Light is the final victor.
We live in a time when darkness wraps the hearts of billions of people throughout the world, and in our own state. We can only imagine the fear of Christians living in Iraq, Pakistan, and the Sudan; or the anxiety of the jobless; or the despair of abused children; or the family who lives in their car or an unheated garage. In our churches there are those who show a good face, but go home to eat food from the food bank, and fear that they will not be able to pay the next utility bill.
Jesus, homeless at birth, became for us the Bread of Life. He is alive in the darkness of the world, even in the midst of doubt and rejection. To those who believe, he has given the glorious gift of Light by which our hearts are enflamed with love. We in turn, are called to enter the world with the gifts of his blessed Presence so that one day others may echo the phrase, “Jesus spent the night with us.”
May this be a blessed Christmas for you, and for those with whom you share the gift of the Father’s love.
Geralyn Wolf
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