Merry Christmas!

St. James' Episcopal Church, Lake George  New York

This is the interior of St. James' ready for our Christmas Eve celebration. I stood for a long time at the crossing taking in the beauty and wonder of the place and its promise for our evening together. It brought to memory a comment made to me by a little girl who had been taken by the wonder of worship. She said, "I can smell the Light." That is exactly right. On Christmas Eve, I could smell the Light. Evergreen. Frankincense. Myrrh. Tulips. ... I wish I could say snow, but it was an uncommon 52 degrees! Regardless, I could smell the Light. There was something in it ... something it brought to the space ... something you could breathe in and know it was from the light itself. Jesus is come ... God with us.

I don't know how it works that God became a human baby. Even more, I don't know how it works that God came and made His home among us, that He lives in us. Immanuel - God's presence with us and in us and among us and around us ... in Jesus. Maybe the only way to know the answer is to stop and stand and look and listen and ask Him to show you ... to breathe in the scent of His Light. 

The scent of His Light is in the beauty of worship. It's in the wonder of prayer. It's in the voices lifted in praise. It's in sharing the bread and drinking from the cup. It's in the hearing of ancient Scriptures ... come to fulfillment. It's in the passing of peace ... the Peace of the Lord be with you. ... Peace on earth, God's goodness to all people.

When I walked outside after our Christmas Eve services, although all the lights inside the church were turned off ... I could still smell the Light. The sky was filled with stars and an almost full moon. Astonishing.

May the Light of Christ be with you this Christmas!