Blue Christmas
The holidays can be brutal. You feel pressured to feel happy all the time. It is the “happiest time of the year” after all. Yet, the social expectations and gatherings with family and friends feel like a punch in the gut. They remind you of whose packages are absent under the Christmas tree and the hugs you’re missing. You’re reminded of broken dreams and promises unfulfilled. Grief, loneliness, and anxiety are your constant companions.
In acknowledgement of the painfulness of navigating the holidays, many churches offer what’s called a Blue Christmas Service or Longest Night Service, often held during the longest night of the year. These services serve as safe spaces for people to acknowledge their pain and experience hope and healing during the holiday season.
Blue Christmas services are personally significant for me, since I lost my father unexpectedly in a car accident on December 7, 1994. His accident was on the Saturday before Thanksgiving, and he remained in a coma until his death on the 7th. Therefore, this time of year always holds some painful and traumatic memories. I’ve certainly experienced my own fair share of holiday blues over the years.
Below I offer my sermon manuscript from my Blue Christmas homily this year. I pray it may bring healing and peace to your weary spirits this year.
Blue Christmas Homily by Rev. Theresa Johnson (offered at Smyrna First United Methodist Church in Smyrna, TN on December 11, 2024.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyVlii4XEgM
I am so glad that you chose to be here tonight. You chose to step away from busyness and social obligations. Amid weariness, anxiety, and grief, you showed up, which is no trivial matter. You chose to take this little bit of time for yourself tonight, even though you may feel pulled in a thousand different directions. You chose to be here, because you were looking for something different than the customary twinkling of holiday lights and cheerful greetings of Merry Christmas everywhere you turn. Whatever your reason is, I am glad you are here. It is my prayer that this set apart time may offer you a small bit of healing and hope as you navigate the holiday season.
We all have different things that drew us to this service tonight. This is a judgement free zone to be sad, broken, and vulnerable over whatever your losses may be. However, I also pray you will experience tonight as a space to find hope in the message of Christmas. Because tonight, we especially cling to the Christmas promise of God coming to be with us personally.
And God doesn’t come to us because we are all spit-shined and polished and have it all together. No, it’s exactly the opposite. God comes to us like a parent coming to give us a great big divine hug and wipe away our tears like for a child who has fallen and skinned their knees. God sees us as we really are, deep down inside, underneath whatever brave face we may try to put on for the rest of the world. God sees our suffering and our pain and gets up close and personal in our messiness, anguish, and heartbreak. God comes to offer “grace upon grace” to see us through the worst of times. When we gloss over this beautiful truth of the meaning of Christmas, we miss the heartbeat of the Christmas message. We miss out on fully experiencing the hope God offers to us, especially in the worst of times.
We’re all here for different reasons. Some of us have lost a parent, spouse, child, or other loved one and are looking for a thread of hope to hang on to. Others may be struggling to come to terms with a job loss or relationship breakup or a devastating medical diagnosis. Or maybe it’s financial pressures or guilt for something we’ve done or said that leave us feeling hopeless and alone this holiday season. Whatever your reason for being here, I pray you leave feeling a little more hopeful than when you arrived.
The gospel of John describes the coming of Jesus as a Light entering the darkness of the world. John 1:5 describes the coming of Jesus as a light entering a dark place. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness doesn’t extinguish the light.” The darkness mentioned in this verse symbolizes the void of emptiness before creation. Jesus is described as the Word through whom everything in existence came into being. John reveals a pre-existent Christ that existed before even creation and through whom everything came into being. Jesus brings life according to John. And this life was the light for all people.
Jesus still comes to us in our own voids of darkness and emptiness. That is simply what he does and who he is. What would you name as your void of darkness and emptiness? Grief? Loneliness? Anxiety? Guilt? Whatever it is, let’s name it before God as we worship tonight. As we name it before God, we do so not for God’s sake but for our own sakes. God knows what burdens we carry and the prayers of our hearts before we ever articulate them. However, there’s healing in naming our sources of pain, suffering, and brokenness. We experience healing as we remember that Jesus meets us especially in those difficult spaces. Psalm 34:18 assures us, “The Lord is close to the broken-hearted; he saves those whose spirits are crushed.”
We remember that we call Jesus our “Emmanuel”, which means “God is with us.” God is with you closer than the breath in your body. You are never alone, even if you may feel like it many days. God is always with you. Jesus seeks the dark corners of our world and our lives and shines his light. “And the darkness doesn’t extinguish the light.”
And not only does Jesus come to us in our voids of darkness and emptiness to be ever present in our times of need, but he also offers new life which offers light in the darkness. You see, Jesus is not a once and done Creator. Jesus is always creating, shining light, and bringing forth new life in the most unlikely situations. So, while we acknowledge our current struggles and don’t minimize how they affect us right now, we also can have hope in brighter days still to come. Even during these difficult days of the holiday season and beyond, I hope you may catch little glimpses of Jesus offering you light and new life and creating something new out of the void and darkness that surrounds you.
During this Advent season, please know that you are so very loved and never alone. Not only does the love and presence of Christ surround you every day, but here you’ll also find a church community who loves you and is here for you. May you remember that the light of Christ shines in the darkness and the void and offers new life and light to carry you through the difficult days. May you experience the true hope of Christmas that “the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness doesn’t extinguish the light.”