I  write this reflection for you, The Democrat reader, to highlight the significance of Jesus’ birth. His birth was the fulfillment of a promise of a savior made many thousand years earlier. The promise and the hope implied in the promise sustained God’s own people through times of turmoil and doubt. In the lives of many of us in 2016, I think we need hope.

The opening hymn for Christmas Eve and Christmas day services at St. Mary Basilica,  ‘O come all ye faithful,’ is a famous Christmas carol, first written in latin (Adeste Fideles) by an Englishman, John Wade, in the early 1970s. The words of the first verse are:

“O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant,

O come, ye, o come ye to Bethlehem;

Come and behold him, born the King of angels,

O come, let us adore him, O come, let us adore him.”

These simple words bid us come to the place and memory of Jesus birth, to see Him who is the king of angels and to adore him who is the Messiah and Lord. These words imply that coming to Him will be the solution to the feelings of  fear and anxiety that burden so many at Christmas 2016. These words promise hope in the midst of discouragement.  My wish for you, the reader, is that you will experience hope this Christmas season and throughout the New Year.

Humanly speaking, hope is a conviction or belief, based on a reliable foundation or authority that a positive outcome related to the circumstances in one’s life will come about. It is the feeling that what we desire will, in fact, come true. The spiritual foundation and authority on which we place our hope is the coming of Jesus among us as a proof of God’s unconditional love for us.

I draw this theme of hope from the readings that I will proclaim in my Christmas worship service: Isaiah 9:1-6; Titus 2:11-14; Luke 2:1-14. In brief, Isaiah promised the Israelites that “a people who walked in darkness will see a great light.” This promise was fulfilled in the gospel reading which described the birth of Jesus, the great light, at Bethlehem. Paul, writing to Titus, outlines how those who become ‘children of the light’ (followers of Jesus) are to live – reject godless and worldly ways, live temperately, justly and devoutly, and await the blessed hope of the Second Coming of Jesus.

Jesus’ first coming at Bethlehem was the basis of hope for the Israelite people who awaited his coming. That people, described as God’s chosen people, experienced much suffering and hardship. They lived in slavery in Egypt, they were exiled in Babylon, and lived under foreign rule in their homeland and for long periods experienced discouragement and hopelessness. They were “a people who walked in darkness.” It was their belief and trust that their God would keep his promises and send a savior, that kept their spirits alive.

As we mark the anniversary of Jesus’ first coming, this message of hope is important to us at Christmas 2016. We sometimes walk in darkness, and that darkness drains the joy, peace and love out of our lives. This Christmas, I think, the darkness shows itself in many forms and arises from many causes.

As a people living in this great land we have been through a divisive election campaign. Even as we prepare for the installation of a new president, many feel insecure and are burdened by anxiety. This arises when relationships fail, when families are separated because of military service, work demands or imprisonment, or when illness besets a family member. Illness creates anxiety about recovery, about costs of treatment or surgery or medication. Individuals and families need hope that God is with them, even if they do not feel his presence, and that He will see them through. It is hope that sustains them.

Some and perhaps, many people in our society today struggle with fear. It might be the fear that one’s home will be broken into, that one’s income will drop or one’s business will fail, that one’s son or daughter is going in the wrong direction with their life, that one’s marriage is failing, that one’s spouse may die, or that one will not afford the cost of medical care. It may be the fear of a young person who worries that he or she will not find a job at the end of college or find a suitable person to marry and will become a lonely individual. Without the hope that God is part of their present situation and will walk with them, this fear might be crippling.

As Jesus’ first coming gave hope to a suffering people, I believe that the message of hope we get from the scripture readings I referred to earlier, is a beacon for us who “walk in any kind of darkness today.”  I offer four thoughts:

Remember God has promised to be with us always.

God is faithful to His promises. We no longer “walk in darkness’ without hope. Believe that he is with us now.

Jesus came as the “light of the world” and He has called us to be “children of the light.” That means following his commandments, awareness of his presence in our lives, respecting our environment, valuing each day as God’s gift, and cherishing each person as brother and sister.

Pray each day to God as your father and to Jesus Christ as your brother.

My wish and prayer for you, my reader, is that Christmas 2016 will be filled with hope, and with that that you strive to live joyfully in a world that is not perfect.
The Rev. David O’Connor is pastor of St. Mary Basilica and Assumption parish.