Christmas 2022

I don’t know if you saw the recent three-part TV documentary on Seán Quinn, the businessman. I’m not going to go into his story or take sides on something I know very little about but I thought there was a striking piece in the first episode. Seán Quinn’s native place of Derrylin lies in the Border area of Fermanagh and Cavan. It is a rural parish, surrounded by hills. On winter nights points of light dotted the hills from the many homes built there. But it was an unemployment black-spot and gradually the lights went out as the young people emigrated and the old people died. When Seán Quinn set up his businesses in the area the emigrants began to return and the young people remained; as a result new homes were built on the hills again. An old man who had lived through the whole process commented, ‘Seán Quinn put the lights back on the hills’. Isn’t that a very powerful image: he put the lights back on the hills.

The first line from the prophet Isaiah tonight reads, ‘The people that walked in darkness has seen a great light’. Light and darkness are so much part of life and in a sense they are intertwined. Without darkness we would have no idea of the significance of light. At a very ordinary level when, for some reason, I am deprived of light in the house at night time I find it extremely difficult to negotiate my way round what should be a familiar room. I find myself stumbling into things and even tripping over them. All of this changes when the light returns. Now I can see everything clearly again. So, one of the effects of light is that it helps us to see what is already there.

At a deeper level where is the darkness in any of our own lives tonight?

 –loneliness?

–a sense of loss or bereavement?

–an addiction?

–a loss of hope?

–a row or even a falling out with a family member or friend?

–depression?

–a sense of guilt?

–worries?

–weariness with life?

–a particular sin?

Where is the light that helps us both to see what is already there and to find a way through it?

And then globally, there is much darkness too: the darkness of hunger or ignorance, of war or exclusion, of oppression or persecution. Where is the light to be thrown on these situations?

We return to the beginning of our first reading which runs, ‘The people that walked in darkness has seen a great light; on those who live in a land of deep shadow a light has shone’. Tonight we celebrate the coming of that light into the world, Jesus Christ, the Son of God. But what exactly is the light that the Lord Jesus brings into the world. How does he help us to see what is already there? Above all the story of the birth of Jesus casts light on the truth of God’s wonderful love for us. It helps us to see our lives in the context of a gift that God has given us. It gives us the key to be able to make some sense of the darkness and of everything that is already there in our lives.

I heard on the radio recently that the most popular Christmas hymn/song of all time is, Silent Night. The second most popular song, would you believe, is the vacuous, White Christmas. In recent decades I’m sure you’ve noticed how, O Holy Night, has become a firm favourite with many people, when sung well, as we will be privileged to hear Sheila sing it at the end of tonight’s Mass. Another song I have heard being requested a lot on the radio this year is, Chris Rea’s, Driving Home for Christmas. I decided to take a closer look at the lyrics to see what makes it so popular. The first thing I noticed is that, rather unflatteringly, there is a lot of repetition. Next, I noticed that the singer presents himself as being stuck in a traffic jam or tail back, but it carries such lines as, ‘I’m driving home for Christmas. Oh, I can’t wait to see the faces… Driving home for Christmas with a thousand memories… I’m driving home for Christmas, get my feet on holy ground… I take look at the driver next to me; he’s just the same. He’s driving home, driving home, driving home for Christmas.’

That conjures up an image we can identify with at this time of year, an image of a man rushing towards the light in his life: namely, home and family and friends, and all the memories he has of them and of past Christmases. Then, beautifully, he calls this, ‘holy ground’. Seeing beyond the surface level, perhaps this is the first light that the Lord casts on our lives, to see what is already there: where we are blessed; where we find love; the many things for which we can give thanks. And all of this coming from the One who is Love. In the Catholic tradition we respect all other religions in the world and recognise in them honest efforts to understand God, but there is one crucial difference between Christianity and every other religion and that is that we are the only religion who believes that God’s love for us is so great that he became one of us. This is what throws light on what is already there in our lives. This is what we celebrate tonight.

This might surprise you but do you know that this is probably the healthiest place you could be tonight? A Harvard University research survey on women found that those who frequently attend Mass have a lower risk of death from all causes, as well as specifically from heart and cancer disease and have fewer symptoms of depression. I presume a similar survey on men would yield similar results.

And then an on-going Trinity College study called, The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing, which includes both men and women, backs this up. It looks at the relationship between religion and mental health in Ireland and it states that those with higher Mass attendance have lower symptoms of depression. They also have larger social networks. It says that a positive mood is created in large religious gatherings. These gatherings bring people a shared joy and convey the comforting sense that we belong to a bigger community. In particular, it notes the importance of Christmas and says, the Spirit of Christmas is expressed in greater altruism, goodwill and generosity.

The light of Christ helps us to see what is positive in our lives, what is already there, both for ourselves as individuals and as a community of faith. But the light of Christ is also something that promises a flowering in eternity. Ultimately, the One who was born on the first Christmas Day is the One who will go on to give his life on the Cross out of love for us. We, above all people, have a reason to celebrate.