It is fitting that we celebrate the coming of our Savior during the darkest time of the year because Christ entered this dark world, poor and unwelcomed by men, to bring light and truth. We celebrate that amidst the present darkness He continues to enter the poor and broken places of our hearts, our relationships, our families, and our communities because He wants to bring light and truth there.

One of my favorite Christmas scripture passages is from Wisdom 18:14-15.

“For while gentle silence enveloped all things, and night in its swift course was now half gone, thy all-powerful word leaped from heaven, from the royal throne, into the midst of the land that was doomed, a stern warrior carrying the sharp sword of thy authentic command . . .”

This verse often uncovers buried hope in me. It references the angel of death that comes to the Egyptians as the final plague in the Exodus story, but as we read it in light of Christmas, we understand that Jesus is the fulfillment of this deliverance story. Jesus is the Stern Warrior, the Word, that leaped down from heaven into this doomed land to free us from the enslavement of darkness and sin. This passage reminds me that we’re not doomed, despite the fractured and fallen world around us. The Word made flesh came to save us in the confusing and seemingly hopeless situations in which we find ourselves to draw us into grace, truth, and communion.

In case the battle around you is exceptionally fierce today, be reminded that this battle, however it appears in your life, is not too fierce for the Stern Warrior. The Word has bounded into this dark world to save you and you can trust Him to be with you and to bring you through it. As St. John reminds us, “The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.” (Jn 1:5)