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In the movie National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, there is a scene when Clark Griswold decorates his house with thousands of lights. When he is finally done, there is a classic moment when the extended family is gathered together in the front yard, the drum rolls, Clark plugs in the lights, and nothing happens. And that leads to another series of slapstick mishaps to find the reason why, which leads to another scene when the lights do finally ignite. And I do mean ignite. There are so many lights that it creates a surge of power that overcomes their obnoxious neighbors and overwhelms the power grid of the entire city. The lights can even be seen from orbit. Then, with the click of a switch, they go out again. Clark is left alone in the darkness. The movie goes on, but let’s stop there.
I wonder if we might want for the power of God to work in the world in a similar way. We want the power of God to surge, to dazzle, to overwhelm, and overcome all that is wrong. We pray for that. We hope for that. And occasionally, we might even sense it is happening. There might be a momentary surge, but it does not last. The surge is over before we know it, and we have no control how long it lasts. Like Clark, we pray and pray for more. We get frustrated when God does not come in the way we want. Nothing more happens. And like Clark we have no clue as to why, and we are left alone in the darkness.
We are not the first to want such power from God. When the ancient Israelites speak of the coming of a Messiah, they do so with hopes of dazzling divine power that will overwhelm and overcome all that is wrong. And yet, that is not the power that we celebrate at Christmas, a power wonderfully described in this poem ["Love Came Down at Christmas"] by Christina Rossetti.
Love came down at Christmas,
Love all lovely, Love divine;
Love was born at Christmas;
Star and angels gave the sign.
Love is born at Christmas. For all we can say about love, we might dare to speak, like Mary, of the power of love when she sang, “He has brought down the powerful from their thrones and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty.” Luke 1:52-53
Love is a power, but it differs from the power so prevalent in the structures, personalities, and systems of this world that constantly strive to dazzle and overwhelm us and sometimes succeed. The alternative is a love incarnate in this world so often found in the lowliest of places. It is incarnate in the humblest of people.
The power of incarnate love burns in those who intervene for the vulnerable;
It flashes in those who conspire for the least, lowly and lost;
It sparkles in those who strive for mercy and forgiveness;
It glows in those who seek to serve their neighbors;
It shines in those who work for peace, putting people back together, putting the entire creation back together.
And love is a power available to each and to all. But this power will not force itself on anyone; it must be received. It must be born again. And it is born. It is born anew even now, this Christmas, in those who will allow love to be born in their lives. Rossetti goes on to speak of this in her poem.
Love shall be our token,
Love shall be yours and love be mine,
Love to God and to all men,
Love for plea and gift and sign.
I hope you have a holy Christmas. Even more I pray for you a blessed incarnation. May your soul know again the power of divine love. And may that love be our plea, our gift, and our sign as we go forth into a new year. Merry Christmas.
+Russell
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