So how can we rejoice? On one level, it feels heartless, insensitive, to continue in joyful expectation of Christmas.
And yet, the song tells us that, for Christians, "How can we keep from singing?" If we truly believe that God is with us, then how can we ever fail to rejoice?
It's very confusing. Of course we CAN'T and DON'T rejoice in the face of this tragedy. But does the kind of senseless brutality experienced in Newtown last week destroy the faith Christians celebrate at Christmas, that God is with us? Of course not.
If Christmas were only a memorial of the past, then maybe we should cancel Christmas this year. But more even than remembering our Lord's birth in the past (one of the greatest mysteries of our faith), Christmas is also about the present and the future: giving birth to Christ in our lives, today, and anticipating Christ's coming in fullness.
So Christians, in the face of tragedy of monstrous proportions, find small ways to embrace the life of our God among us. For many, this will surely be a sorrowful Christmas. But Christmas it will be, nonetheless.
As Christmas nears, let us pray that each of us will find our own unique way to bring into our corners of the world the fullness of joy that Jesus promises. (John 15:11) May we become signs of God's presence (Emmanuel) for our friends and neighbors, signs of Christ living among us--especially to our children, our school teachers, and our neighbors in Newtown.
To echo Barbara Gawle's Weekly Bible Study: "Powers feared are nothing in the face of the coming of our Lord. And so... Isaiah urges: 'Cry out with joy and gladness: for among us is the great and holy One of Israel!'”
