I love the joy of Christmas time, especially watching the activities of the season through the eyes of my son. Celebrating the season, it is easy to get wrapped up in the glitter and glow and let the busy happiness carry me through the days. But in the midst of the presents, events, and plentiful food, it’s also a time in which we notice the absence of loved ones and the many ways our world is not all that we had hoped it would be. We notice the empty chairs, unrealized dreams, new realities and even longings we thought we had buried long ago. Christmas time is often filled with lots of happiness, but sometimes also lots of sadness for many.
In these darkest nights of the year, we don’t have to bury our sorrows deep down, or dwell on them alone. As Christ followers, we have a Lord and Savior who promises to come with us as we walk through the valleys of life. In that spirit, Christians across the world find some way to hold space for a service of lament in the season of Advent. Sometimes these services are called Blue Christmas, other times they are called Longest Night. Last night, as a church we observed our own Blue Christmas service. It was a meaningful night of song, prayer, words of lament, and words of hope. This is one of those services that we offer, not because we think it will have a large attendance, but as a way to tend our souls this busy season.
If you were unable to attend last night, but some of the darkness of this season rings true for you, we wanted to offer something you could do at home, and at your own pace. At the end of this blog, we have included the PDF of the Blue Christmas Service. It is a litany guided service that could easily be used for a personal devotion or a guide for lifting the burdens you are carrying this season to God. In the midst of the endless to-dos, light a candle, sit down, and take some time to pray, lament, and move toward hope as we await the birth of the Christ child.
In the words of the benediction from last night’s service: “God, help us remember that we are not forgotten. You have not given up on us or on our planet. Help us believe that all is not lost. Give us the courage to keep showing up together, and to keep showing up with hope and love in our world.”
Amen!