There is a particular kind of hush that settles at midnight on Christmas Eve. The world feels thinner then, as though it is holding its breath.
And when the white candle is lit, the Christ candle, something stirs deep within us. A tingle, perhaps a quiet joy and even a sense that we are standing on holy ground.
This is the heart of Christmas: Immanuel - God with us.
God is not far away, and certainly not watching from a safe distance; instead God chooses closeness by stepping fully into the mess and beauty of human life.
At midnight we proclaim something astonishing: that the Holy One, rather than hovering above the world, enters into it. That the Light is not afraid of the dark and that God is born into our lives.
And yet, if we are honest, there is a danger hidden even within this beautiful celebration; once the candles are extinguished, the decorations packed away and ordinary life resumes.
We can so easily slip, almost unconsciously, into believing that Christmas was a moment rather than a truth. That God was with us then, but now we must manage on our own again.
But the Incarnation does not expire on December 26th.
Christ is not born once a year.
Christ is born again and again - in us, among us, through us.
Every moment is held within God’s nearness and every breath is taken in divine companionship.
There is no distance - only the illusion of distance.
That illusion creeps in whenever we choose fear over trust. Whenever we cling to control instead of surrender. Whenever we retreat into self-preservation rather than love. In those moments its not that we lose God but rather we we lose awareness.
The great mystery of the Incarnation is this: God has already crossed every distance we imagine exists.
God is with us in joy and exhaustion, in certainty and doubt, in celebration and in the long, ordinary stretches of life.
And so if Christmas truly celebrates God with us, then every day carries Christmas within it.
Every table can become a manger, every ordinary moment can blaze with holiness and every life can become a dwelling place for God.
Tonight, as the Christ candle burns - whether in a church, a window, or the quiet of your own heart - may you feel that familiar tingle once more. But may it not fade with the season.
Because the Light does not leave.
The Presence does not withdraw.
The Word continues to take flesh.
Every day is Christmas Day.
God is with us.
Christmas Blessings, Jayne