Cries of “Merry Christmas!” and non-stop caroling contrast with the feelings of many people at this time of year. For those suffering from the recent or impending death of loved ones and for those whose families are in crisis, it can be a very isolated and dreary time. Every greeting and every song reminds the grief-stricken of how unhappy life is at this moment.
The verses we now know as “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” are versions of the antiphons traditionally sung on the seven nights leading up to Christmas Eve. These antiphons are worthy of our attention as we enter this time before Christmas for both their spiritual riches and for their place in our Anglican heritage.
We are brought up to believe that if we’re good boys and girls, we’ll get everything on our Christmas list. Most of us recognize, by the time we reach adulthood, that life doesn’t add up that way. “Wonderful” people, we discover, experience suffering, disappointment, and loss. There are “wonderful” people all over the world who go to bed hungry and have no roof at all over their heads.
It is important to bring St. Nicholas’ Christmas cheer to New York because of the saint’s historic significance in the city — the first church in Fort Washington was called St. Nicholas and St. Nicholas Avenue is a main thoroughfare. “One of New York’s great hotels was St. Nicholas on Broadway and the Russian Orthodox has its glorious St Nicholas Cathedral on 97th,” he said. “St. Nicholas, of course, is the name of the church destroyed at 9/11, and whose return as a church many eagerly await.”
Living in a Benedictine monastery taught me many valuable lessons. One of those was how to celebrate the Nativity of Jesus Christ in a way that does not insult the homeless Child of Bethlehem nor supports the lie that our lives have meaning only in terms of the national economy. The only real excess at Christmas need be the recognition of God’s extravagant love for us.