When I left the courthouse in Scotland County, North Carolina, I was weeping so hard I could barely see where I was going. I had gone in search of a birth certificate but discovered it was nonexistent. It was like being told you do not exist.
The walk back home, across the railroad tracks of Newtown, seemed longer than it really was. Hopelessness and despair will make any journey seem longer, and it is hard to see with water in your eyes.
This happened many years ago, and the details that seemed so spirit-crushing then are long since resolved. But I can still remember the tears I shed that day.
There has been too much weeping, too much despair of late, but in God’s spiritual economy, there always comes a day when we are called upon to “… lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.” – Hebrews 12:12-13.
“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” – Isaiah 9:6
When it seems as if the weeping of darkness will last forever, God invites us on this day, Christmas Day, to rejoice with unabashed joy to behold a light that will cast out all dark, a light bright enough to chase away the evil and hatred that would poison our souls.
The weeping becomes different when the tears are of a joy that shines bright with a light that guides our future. That light is Jesus Christ, Immanuel, God with us, born to take away our bent to sin, born to set our course toward a future where love, peace, and justice will reign forever. Through tears of joy on this Christmas Day, may we see in each other’s eyes a hope that was not there yesterday. May we sense a deep and joyful hope that runs counter to the narratives of despair, anxiety, and fear that hold us captive.
In the coming of Christ, our captivity to sin and death is over. My beloved sisters and brothers in Christ, “Weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning.” – Psalm 30:5.
Indeed, “Joy to the world the Lord is come. Let heaven and nature sing.” It is a beautiful song giving witness to the world that joy we have on Christmas Day: The world didn’t give it, and the world can’t take it away. Therefore, it is a good and right thing to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas. May your hearts sing with joy.
Merry Christmas,
