The forecast of snow brings to mind one of my favorite poems, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, by Robert Frost. Drawn by the beauty of a gentle snow fall, the rider wants to stop and watch the woods fill up with snow, even if his little horse should think its queer to stop without a farmhouse near. But he knows that he must move on. “The woods are lovely dark and deep, but I have promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep.”
Someone is relying on him to keep his word. We live in an age when promises in politics, business, or even our relationships evaporate as quickly as a snowflake hitting a warm window pane. Christmas, on the other hand, is a reminder of a promise God made three thousand years ago to liberate us from the darkness of sin.
Two thousand years ago, like a great star, Jesus came down from heaven and lit up the darkness of our world. In the opening lines of his gospel, John observes, “The light shines on in darkness.” To this day, the darkness of sin has not succeeded in turning off the light of God’s love in our midst, thanks to the efforts of many who share the light of Christ with others.
Some of us may not see ourselves destined to be the light of Christ but others do. One was a girl named Kaitlin who was participating in a Christmas pageant. She was so excited about her part that her parents presumed that she was one of the major characters. All the parents were there, and one by one, the children took their places on stage. The shepherds were fidgeting in the corner of the stage meant to represent the fields. Mary and Joseph stood solemnly behind the manger. In the back three young wise men waited impatiently. Meanwhile, Kaitlin sat at the edge of the stage quietly.
Then the teacher began, “A long time ago, Mary and Joseph had a baby and named him Jesus. And when Jesus was born, a bright star appeared over the stable.” At that cue, Kaitlin got up, picked up a large tinfoil star, walked behind Mary and Joseph and held the star up high for everyone to see.
When the teacher told about the shepherds coming to see the baby Jesus, the three young shepherds came forward and Kaitlin jiggled the star up and down excitedly to show them the way. When the wise men responded to their cue, Kaitlin went forward to meet them and to lead the way. Her face was as brilliant as the original star must have been.
On the way home, Kaitlin told her parents, “I had the main part.” “You did?” her mother asked, wondering why she thought that. “Yes,” Kaitlin replied, “’cause I showed everybody how to find Jesus.” How insightful that young girl was! To show others how to find Jesus, to be the light for their paths, is the finest role we can play in life and sometimes, we do so in unexpected ways.
Not too long ago, Dave Brubeck, a renowned jazz musician, passed away. In 1980, he did a rendering of the Mass entitled, To Hope! A Celebration. After the opening performance, a priest told him that he had left out the Our Father. Brubeck asked him, “What’s the Our Father?” After the priest explained what the prayer meant, Dave had a dream about it. He jumped out of bed and wrote it all down. That event didn’t just change the piece; it changed Dave Brubeck’s life. He became Catholic because he felt somebody was trying to tell him something.
Today we celebrate the birth of a child whose father was none other than God, the source of life and love. Without God, we would not be alive, much less gathered in this time and place. In the Nicene Creed, that prayer which summarizes our Christian faith, we profess, “I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten son of God, born of the Father before all ages, God from God, light from light, true God from true God.” We reiterate our conviction that by the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary.
Like the woods on a snowy evening, Christmas is a time to sit still and listen for nothing is ordinary about this moment. God has come down from heaven to become one of us to dispel the darkness of sin. But like the rider in the snowy woods, we know that we must move on. Before long, our lives will be back to normal and we could easily forget what Christmas was all about.
However, if we want to rid our world of its darkness and find peace in our midst, then we have promises to keep ourselves, namely bringing the light of Christ to others, promises that we may not be inclined to keep, convinced that whatever we say or do won’t make much difference. But you never know. I can’t imagine that priest expected to change Dave Brubeck’s life when he explained to him what the Our Father was about.
Another line of Robert Frost that I remember well is this. “Two roads diverge in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”
God the Father sent his son, Jesus, to show us that road less traveled by to dispel the darkness of our world. I invite you to travel that road by attending Mass every Sunday so that the light of Christ through scripture and the Eucharist will enlighten your lives. With his help, we can dispel our darkness, provided we travel down the road with him and endeavor to love tenderly, act justly, and walk humbly as he did.