HCH Photo: Anna Weaver
Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright!
In what universe is this true in 2020?! We are in the midst of a global pandemic that has been financially, emotionally and spiritually challenging for many. Our country just lived through one of the most contentious presidential elections imaginable, and we are sharply divided with different ideologies and different ways of looking at the world. We are still hearing of scandals in the Church, and there is now the scandal of infighting between one group and another. While some are celebrating a victory for their values and beliefs, others are gearing up for battle to defend different values and beliefs. Hardly a thought goes unexpressed on social media, whether it is a thought of hatred or of love. Bullying is no longer confined to playgrounds but is experienced in the public arena among adults.
It is easy for us to take sides and to place ourselves on one side of a dividing line or the other. Yet how much the world needs a whole assembly of people to stop the madness and innocently sing about the gentle birth of a King. He brought much peace to the world — and much controversy. He brought light, but was hated by those who preferred the darkness. He came not with an army to destroy all evil and all who embrace it, but as an innocent Babe to coo his way into our hearts. He is Wisdom incarnate, but he did not fight even for his own life, but laid it down freely.
No matter how counterintuitive it might be, we MUST sing his praises; we must kneel in silent awe before the gift that he has made himself for us. If we who are his disciples sing long enough and persistently enough, refusing to be silenced by the cacophony of our troubled world, the song itself will eventually slow us down, keep us focused on the fact that we are all brothers and sisters to one another, and make us realize one day that what we insistently sang has indeed become a reality.
To all of you disciples, never let your voices waver in giving praise to the God who loves us so much that he sent his only begotten Son to save us. Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright!
– Bishop Larry Silva
