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Christmas 2006
December 24 / 25
Fr. Carl McCarthy
Do you ever wonder why
Jesus came in the dark of night?
Many people are afraid of the dark. People do bad things at
night because no one can see them do these things in darkness. Thieves
steal at night, people get murdered at night, war and fights break out at
night, all kinds of evil things happen at night. In many places, people
will not even walk the streets at night for fear that something bad will
happen to them.
We have always tried to overcome darkness with light. That is
why we have nightlights in our homes and security lights that line our
streets. We fear the night, for we associate dark with evil. Jesus was
born into the dark of the night in order to overcome the darkness and the
power of evil. Remember what Jesus Christ said -- “I am the light of the
world.” Remember as well the angels came and sang over the place of his
birth -- “Glory to God in the Highest and peace to His people on earth.”
Their song led the shepherds to the newborn Savior, who would shatter the
darkness and bring a new and radiant light to the world. This Light of
Christ has been burning brightly on the darkest of nights throughout the
centuries.
This light became truly present on Christmas Eve night in
1914, when World War I was young. More than 8,000 had been killed, and it
looked like Christmas would be just another day of killing. A British
soldier was on duty when he heard a familiar song in the dark night,
coming from the German side -- “Stille Nacth, heilige Nacht.” In English,
he began to sing back, “Silent Night, Holy Night.” As he continued to
sing, others began to sing, and a chorus from the other side joined in as
well.
Then German soldiers started another song, “O Tannenbaum,” and
the English replied with “Hark the Harold Angels Sing.” Back and forth
across the trenches, they sang carols to each other. Then they quickly
put together and held up signs in German and English that read “Merry
Christmas.” Then it happened on that cold dark night -- the war stopped.
One of the soldiers crawled under the barbed wire fence that separated the
two armies. He brought with him a can of sardines. More and more soldiers
crawled out, bringing with them bottles of wine, chocolates, cookies, and
other packages that they had received from home. They shared pictures of
family; they smoked cigarettes, and they sang more songs. The officers on
both sides were stunned, but they couldn’t do anything. All night the war
stopped. They laughed and sang till dawn and well into the day.
Finally, the officers had to order the soldiers back to their
own sides and to their trenches, threatening them with court-martial or
worse. They did as they were ordered, and, before Christmas day ended,
the war resumed.
After the soldiers returned to their trenches, the shooting
started again. Yet, there was something different this time. Instead of
the soldiers pointing their guns at one another and shooting, they pointed
their guns in the air and shot upwards to avoid hurting anyone.
On that Christmas night, the soldiers had experienced the
light. They knew that Christ had been born to take away the darkness of
violence, oppression, hate and war, and they were not going to return to
their old ways. Many strange and dangerous things can happen at night.
That is why Christ came at night to bring light to our darkened world. He
is the light that shines on our brokenness and radiates to us the great
way of love that God first had in mind.
I only hope that leaders of nations and states, that leaders
of religions and families, that enemies and thugs, that all of us, can see
the light that shines out on our darkened world. I hope, as well, that we
can work towards ending the fighting in the world and not just for a
night.
sdrose@bellsouth.net
12-30-2006 |