In the Silence and the Singing

Mom's painting of Mary

Listen!
Something strains to be born
to shake itself free:
something brand new trembles
at the far edge of our minds:
the shape of a world to come
conceived in our present labor and pain.
~ Poems of the Hidden Way, Catherne deVinck

     Today is a day celebrated around the world. It matters that we remember that carols are being sung and bells rung in San Juan and Houston, on the hillside of California and the streets of New York, in Seoul and Gaza and where you are this day. This is a day when we are all, each one reminded that God’s promise is living in us – Emmanuel, God with us.

          In and through our grieving there are times of silence. Silence that stays with us sometimes moments, sometimes stretching into days. There are times when words won’t come. There are times when words fall so short of what matters, what speaks for us. And this silence is a part of the journey. This silence is a holding place for our spirits to catch up.

           In and through our grieving there are times of singing. Throughout our lives we are given songs with words that express our feelings when we feel lost from our words. From “Jesus loves me this I know,” to “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day,” there are songs to share this time of grief and healing.

          Christmas morning is the living out of faith, hope and love. Especially on this day there are stories and melodies of all three wrapped into one. It is our faith that has brought us this far – through the snowy, blustery days and the quiet, star-filled nights we have come. It is our hope that has brought us to this day – with an encouraging word from a friend, or a candle lit to keep us going. It is our love that has brought us here – love living on and within us from the ones we are missing this season, love that graces us from God’s incarnational presence to guide us on.

            This day our hearts have come to Bethlehem. We have journeyed step by step to this day and to this place. It is here that our stories are held in God’s greater story. It is here that angels sent words of comfort and great joy, “Fear not: for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." In the silence and the singing – today and each day we listen for the hope that comes with a baby’s first cry.

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On the Eve of Christmas Hatred will vanish
On the Eve of Christmas the Earth will flourish
On the Eve of Christmas War will be gone
One the Eve of Christmas Love will be born
           When we offer a glass of water to a thirsty person
                                   it is Christmas
            When we clothe a naked person with a gown of love   
                                   it is Christmas
             When we wipe the tears from weeping eyes
                                   it is Christmas
             When the spirit of revenge dies in us
                                   it is Christmas       
             When in my heart I no longer want to stay apart   
                                   it is Christmas
              When I am buried in the being of God
                                   it is Christmas
[Sabeel Liberation theology Centre (Jerusalem), Shine on, Star of Bethlehem]