Blue Christmas
“Comfort, comfort my people,” says your God…
Israel, why do you say,
“My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God”?
Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary,
They will walk and not be faint.
-Isaiah 40:1, 27-31
Christmas is a time filled with activity, tradition, expectations, and sometimes unwelcome emotions. For people who are grieving, disappointed, lonely, or afraid, Christmas can feel overwhelming. The pressure to smile and greet others with joy can feel too heavy a burden to carry. This is why we provide a Blue Christmas service. It is our way to acknowledge the difficulty of the season, giving people a space to put unmet expectations, disappointments, the pain of grief, and the fear of loneliness. We bring those burdens to God who says, “Comfort” to His people.
The prophet Isaiah understood the pain and hardship of the people. He also helped them to know that God also understood what they were going through. God does not grow tired or weary. God gives us strength when we are overwhelmed, exhausted and hurting. God gives comfort, strength, endurance, and encouragement. God lifts us up on eagle’s wings.
Who might God be putting on your heart to invite to the Blue Christmas service this year? This is something we offer every year, but you may not need it from time to time. Perhaps a friend or a neighbor, a relative or a co-worker would benefit from sitting with you in the sanctuary amongst other people who also find the pressures of the season daunting. Please join us on Monday, December 22 at 7pm in the Main Sanctuary for our Blue Christmas service. On the longest night of the year, we will light candles and speak words of comfort and hope to one another in worship.
Pray: Comforting God, wrap us in your presence. Help us find your light, a light that will guide us day-by-day, step-by-step, as we try to live life fully and wholly. On this longest night of the year, we embrace and claim the darkness that is present both in the world and in our own lives. As people who are familiar with the darkness, we also know that we gather to be illuminated by the light of the Christ Child this Christmas season. May the Christ Child, born in a lowly stable, himself an outcast and marginalized, bring light, comfort, peace, and joy this holiday season. May the hope of the Christ Child sustain us through our darkness. That together we may shine again. Amen.
