The 5th Day of Christmas. Transcending sorrow

“… da haben die Dornen Rosen getragen…” photo: A Furchert

“Bring your sorrows. Hold them into Christmas.”

Friends,

This reflection for today is brief but not easy. It invites you into the most urgent movement of your heart. It invites you to listen and to meditate. A healer is born unto us, and healin’ ain’t gonna come easy.

I remember a Christmas several years ago when a good friend visited. We sat in the sitting room, sipping spiced wine listening to Bach. Do you know Bach’s Christmas oratorio?, I asked him. Yes, I do, but this is his Passion, isn’t it? he said. After my first embarrassment I noticed. Of course it is the Passion. I had sung both many times. And still, somehow, unconsciously, I chose to listen to the Passion oratorio that Christmas season.

And this is the point. In the church year and in our heart, Christmas and Passion are not strangers to one another. (And JS Bach has shown this beautiful as both works complement each other.)They need each other – both hold each other i…