School children enjoy singing an American gospel song that originated in the 1920s entitled ‘This Little Light of Mine’.
With gusto they sing: “This little light of mine I’m going to let it shine… All around the neighbourhood I’m going to let it shine”.
It’s heartwarming to see them sing while performing enthusiastically the actions that go with the song. As adults we lose some of that child-like innocence and gusto for its positive message.
A woman told one of us recently of how, in speaking with someone of the serious problems in the world and in her own circle of family and friends, she realised she had been overcritical of certain people.
But she was particularly struck by the reply she received from the person she was chatting with: “What you say might even be true; but it’s important to keep the light on.”
This phrase “keep the light on” made a deep impression on her. It’s a good motto for all of us this Christmas.
It’s not to deny that there are serious issues facing our world. It’s enough to name places like Ukraine, Sudan, Gaza, or mention topics like homelessness, housing shortage, racism. And none of us gets through life without difficulties in our personal and family lives.
But the whole point of Christmas is that the Son of God has come down to be with us. He is “true God from true God, Light from Light”. With him, even in the darkness, we can have light.
The prophet Isaiah foretold the coming of Jesus who is the Light of the world saying, “all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God”.
It’s good to train ourselves in recognising and seeing the light of Christ present around us – in the kind gesture of a family member, in the love of a married couple, in the tenderness of a nurse’s care, in the patience of a grandmother, in the honest dealings of those in business, in the courage of those who stand up to oppose crime and drug trafficking and racism.
The kindly light of the God who has come among us is there to be recognised if we train our eyes to see it.
Even more, however, we ourselves can make that kindly light shine more brightly in our world when we bring the healing warmth of love into our relationships and in our gestures of care and closeness to the poor and elderly, the poor and migrants, the sick and imprisoned.
It’s possible to compare our lives to a magnificent window in Cathedral. The window may be wonderful, but what is it without light.
By placing our lives in the light of the love that the Son of God brings at Christmas, the window will light up with all its magnificent colours and many will see that light.
Happy Christmas! Nollaig Shona!