Light in Darkness (Christmas, 2011)

This is my homily for Christmas Day, Sunday 25 December 2011. I am a Catholic chaplain in Teaneck at Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU) campus and for the FDU Newman Catholic Association. We celebrate Catholic Mass - during Fall and Spring semester - every Sunday Evening (7:30 p.m.) at the Interfaith Chapel, 842 River Road, Teaneck, NJ. Our Sunday Evening Mass resumes Jan. 22, 2012 at 7:30 p.m.

[_01_] “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.” (Isaiah)
In the Book of Isaiah the prophet, we read about our salvation as a new brightness, a new source of illumination.

The Gospel message of Jesus Christ is meant to be our light. And, in this regard, we might say it is our way to survive the inevitable delays, interruptions, and sorrows, of our lives.

Isn’t this true on the playing surface, as well? That is, on the court or field, we might have trouble competing if we were out there with only natural light. Sometimes, we need more than natural light.

In 2008, there was an actual series of delays which led to a very rain-delayed Wimbledon tennis final in London between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. In 2008, this was the year that Rafael Nadal won his first Wimbledon and Federer lost for the first time at either Wimbledon or on grass in 6 years.

In this 5 set match, the players had to survive in the darkness. The match started about 2:00 p.m., and after 2 rain delays totalling about 3 hours and 4 hours, 48 minutes of playing time, the match finished in near darkness at 9:16 p.m.

(Notes ... this was the longest singles match in Wimbledon history. During one rain delay, Nadal’s coach and uncle Toni, took a siesta in the locker room.)

Nadal said – as the match wore on - he could not see anything, but he certainly saw enough, coming out the winner in 5 sets, 9-7 in games in the final set. This is one of the greatest tennis matches of all time.

Had the games gone much longer, the umpire probably would have “called it” due to darkness.

Immediately after the match, the only light on the court was coming from the photographer’s flashbulbs illuminating Rafael Nadal and his trophy.

[_02_] In such a unique evening-twilight situation, these players wanted to continue even under poor playing conditions.

Neither one would have wanted the match called and postponed until the next day.
If only they could have had a little more light.

Both Federer and Nadal interviewed after the match said, “[we] almost could not see [each other]; [we] thought we would have to stop.”

[_03_] In such a situation of darkness, we may sometimes have to struggle or get by with a limited amount of light or with fading light or with only a gradual increase of light.

Isn’t this true in, for example …
1. School, academic work – we may start the semester or school year in September anxious about the final exam in December or June ..but all we can really do is try to study in a disciplined fashion day by day.

2. In relationships, in our families, at work. Consider that we have someone who causes us difficulty, anxiety. We might wish, at times, this “blackout” could be concluded with the flip of a switch.

In such a situation, all we can do is seek the Lord’s guidance each day, a way of making each day our Sunday, our Sabbath, our seeking of rest and peace.

We are not seeking a championship and final conclusion but rather a rest from our struggle so that we may continue to our final conclusion.

St. Augustine writes about this as the “interior kind of prayer without ceasing, namely the desire of the heart. Whatever else you may be doing, if you but fix your heart on God [God’s Sabbath rest], your prayer will be ceaseless. Therefore if you wish to pray without ceasing, do not cease to desire….. Burning love is the outcry of the heart. If your love is without ceasing, you are crying out always. If always cry out, you are always desiring, if you desire, your calling to mind your eternal rest in the Lord.”

In such a way, we keep the light of the Gospel turned on, even in the darkness. In
this regard, our true desires are also our light.

Our salvation is presented to us as light, as light which the darkness hath not over come (John 1).

With the birth of the Christ child, however, this light comes upon us gradually and invites us to accept this light, this change of viewpoint into our lives, gradually. In a any situation of darkness, we are also invited to repentance, to humility.

This gives us more than natural light, it is a supernatural light that exists in our consciences, in our hearts.

Rather than a bright light shining overhead which will brings a sudden end to evening and the prolonging of this moment … he is the child born after the long night, which brings the light as morning, as the dawn, as the new day.

This the light of Christ shining within us, growing gradually stronger. [_fin_]