15.12.2015
Christmas Message From the Archbishop of Dublin, the Most Revd Dr Michael Jackson
As the darkness gets blacker, the light gets brighter. So a friend said to me recently, almost out of nowhere, but it struck a chord in the overall shape of things. I hope it can strike a chord with you as we approach Christmas 2015. For many of us our experience is that darkness, once it descends, simply gets blacker and blacker. Reflecting on the year soon to draw to a close, you might be thinking of the horrific conflagration at the Halting Site in Carrickmines on the outskirts of Dublin, the death of Garda Golden in Omeath or a personal loss. You might think of the refugees fleeing from Syria and from other parts of the Middle East and the forgotten peoples of Africa who continue to flee. You might think of attacks in Paris, Beiruit, America and Mali. You may see a flicker of grace and hope, of human dignity and spirit among those who have suffered most and lost most and who still give to others – darkness and light.
All of us can benefit from making a little time to reflect on darkness and light, on light and darkness, the cycle and the succession of time. You may be sitting indoors and the time comes for you to switch on a light somewhat earlier than you had expected – darkness and light. You may be out for a walk with children or dogs or on your own, and you notice something different about the sky above – darkness and light. The darkness will not go away. Our hope, particularly as we approach Christmas, is that the proportion of tangible light and brightness will increase as, in the words of the Christmas Gospel the darkness does not overcome it. This is not optimism, this is hope; this is the Kingdom of God in our midst. This is frequently ground out in humility and in degradation, in goodness and in glory; this is the presence of God at the heart of pain and suffering – in the Middle East, at Borders throughout Europe, in homelessness, destitution, grief and poverty in Ireland. This is our world and it is God’s world, held together by God’s love.
A light to guide us into the darkness and through the blackness – this is the light of Christ and the light of Christmas. As you remember others, remember that God loves you and God loves them.
+Michael
Archbishop of Dublin