Hope on the Fourth Day of Christmas

“Let your heart be light. . .from now on our troubles will be out of sight. . .”

The Winter Solstice, the year’s darkest day, has now passed. Each day henceforth, the sunlight increases, which is precisely why celebrating the Incarnation on December 25^th is so meaningful in the northern hemisphere. The Light of the World came to dispel the darkness forever.  Mirrored in the landscape of Earth and sky, hope shines most brightly during the Christmas Season.

In 1969, more than 475,000 U.S. military personnel were stationed in Vietnam. There were 11,780 American soldiers dead that year, and countless more Vietnamese. In June, I had just returned from doing a USO tour of the east-west Mediterranean, entertaining the troops stationed to protect our NATO allies, most having already served tours in Vietnam. I was deeply affected by the casualties of war, having seen the desperate look in the eyes of so many young men and women. That December, I was asked to sing a solo at a Christmas party for a large department store in my hometown. I chose to perform “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”(written by Hugh Martin) because I wanted to uplift the hearts of the families of active service and veterans who were hanging onto hope that “our troubles will be out of sight,” as this emotionally-packed song lyrics crescendo. I recall becoming choked up in the middle of singing as tears welled up in the eyes of many.  Afterward, I was reassured that the audience benefitted from feeling the emotions of communal hope.

Fifty years have passed since that experience, but the need for hope-filled moments has not. Throughout several more wars, a worldwide pandemic, and political unrest, hope has waxed and waned like the cycles of the moon. We feel this most acutely when pessimism creeps into our daily lives due to loss and sadness. Although some may be more resilient than others, no one escapes suffering regardless of how much money or successes are amassed. The cross comes to everyone, which is why the Incarnation and the Paschal Mystery remain so meaningful to Christians. Our God-made-flesh knows what it means to be human, has experienced both joy and sorrow, loss and gain. “Hope springs eternal,” a proverb I live by, remains written indelibly in the human heart.

On this fourth day of Christmas, may we allow the resilience of the human spirit to rise again. May hope warm and inspire us to embrace life in all its complexity!