December 23rd: Holy

Submitted by Denise Cormaney

HOLY

This word conjures up various thoughts and emotions whenever I hear it. At Advent, however, I immediately think of O Holy Night. No one loves Christmas music like our son Alex, so we hear all the songs on a non-stop loop, all season long. O Holy Night is one of the few songs that cuts through the noise and has an impact on me, every time. 

Never have I felt its impact like I have this year. 

Perhaps you’ve heard it this year and it hit you differently, too. Or perhaps you’ve only heard it in the background, recorded by a second-tier American Idol winner, and you didn’t give it too much attention. I invite you to consider some of the lyrics; they were written in 1855 but seem especially relevant now:

Long lay the world, in sin and error, pining;

‘Til He appeared, and the soul felt its worth.

The thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices;

For yonder breaks, a new and glorious morn.

Doesn’t it feel like we have spent 2020 pining, scanning the horizon for some light to come into the world? How long, Lord? Don’t our souls long to feel their worth in the presence of so much pain and suffering all around us? Aren’t we weary right now, so weary, longing to rejoice together? Doesn’t the mere notion of hope give us a thrill?

Rarely do the recorded versions of this song include the third verse, which is truly a loss. I find its impact to be as powerful as the first. The first verse tells of us Christ’s birth, of the Light coming into the world. The third verse tells us why He came:

Truly He taught us to love one another;

His law is Love and His gospel is Peace.

Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother,

And in his name all oppression shall cease.

Holy, indeed. 

Friends, the Light is coming. It has been promised. There is a light in the darkness, and the darkness shall not overcome it. Even in 2020, Love wins.