GLIMMERS OF CHRISTMAS LIGHT
On Christmas morning light glimmers through the stable door: the light of hope, the light of peace and the light of love. These shards of light glimmer around us today. A glimmer is like a positive trigger. Whereas a trigger leads to trauma with its attendant pain and shame, a glimmer is an invitation to abide in grace, joy and communion.
Christmas time can be glimmer time. The angel light above the shepherds glimmer. The Christmas star glimmers. The light from the birth of Christ shines on our own lives. Glimmers abound symbolized in the Advent and Christmas candle, the lights on the Christmas tree, and the star on top of that tree. Then there’s the spiritual light that shines at Christmas time in joy, hope, giving and gratitude. At Christmas, we are invited to open our eyes to the glimmers about us, however faint they may seem.
The powerful beauty of the Christmas season kindles the hearts of us who seek justice in our fractured worlds. This light glimmers in a ruined nativity scene in the rubble of a church in Gaza and in blood-spattered icon of Madonna and Child in a Ukrainian village. “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it (John 1:5).”
This Christmas, let us be attentive to the glimmers, those sights and moments that transport us heavenward; to look for the Nativity in our own time and in our own place. Canadian artist William Kurelek reimagined the Nativity in our own Canadian setting in his collection called A Northern Nativity. It is set in Depression-era Canada and shows the Holy Family as economic refugees taken in by the kindness of strangers, whether it be in a garage when there is no vacancy in the New Bethlehem motel, on a reserve, a poor farmer’s home in Quebec, or a Newfoundland outport. This picture book was an inspiration for my own Northern Light book, which also attempts to trace sacred glimmers across the Canadian landscape in word and image. This prayer is a particular tribute to Kurelek’s work:
Northern Nativity Redux
Loving God, look tenderly on Canada this holy season.
Look upon an Annunciation in Regina, where angel greets girl.
Look upon a pregnant teen at the Moncton bus station as she is joyfully greeted by her cousin.
Look upon a dreaming Joseph above his Sudbury workshop.
Look upon the holy couple as they approach Parliament Hill.
Look upon northern lights dancing your Gloria.
Look upon Okanagan shepherds awed by your heavens.
Look upon our wisdom figures from the Dene, Haida and Ojibwe.
Look upon a humble shed in east-end Montreal underneath the bright lights of a rail sorting yard.
Look upon our refugee family escaping in the night.
Look upon our land in this holy season and give us the eyes to see Christ being born among us.
Les Miller is a husband, dad, grandfather and catechist. He has served the Catholic education community for 40 years as teacher, chaplaincy team leader, Department Head. AQ Instructor, textbook writer, and Religious Education and Family Life Consultant. Les authored the 25 Questions Series, Words for the Journey and award-winners Catholic Teacher’s Companion and Northern Light. Currently, he is an instructor and advisor with the Archdiocese of Toronto’s online Catechist formation program and lead contributor to the St. Monica Institute’s series on praying with art, Abide in Beauty.
