December 29. Four days past Christmas. The tree is starting to droop. The decorations are coming down. The world is moving on. But Christmastide says: not yet. Stay in the light a little longer.
This is countercultural. The Christmas season in the Western world is impossibly short. It starts around Thanksgiving, peaks on December 25, and is gone by December 26. But the ancient church knew something the modern world forgets: some things deserve more than a day. The incarnation, God becoming human, deserves twelve days.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
John 1:5John wrote those words two thousand years ago. And they are still true. The light that entered the world on Christmas morning is still shining. It has not been overcome by darkness. It has not been dimmed by time. It has not been forgotten by the world that needed it most.
The Discipline of Staying
There is a spiritual discipline in staying with something past its moment. When the excitement fades, when the novelty wears off, when everyone else has moved on, that is when depth is formed. Christmastide is an invitation to stay in the light a little longer.
Many people experience Christmas as a high point, followed by a low. The joy of the day gives way to the post-holiday letdown. But Christmastide offers a different pattern: stay in it. Do not let go of the joy just because the calendar flips. The light is still here. The Word is still with us. The celebration is not over.
This is also a practice for the whole Christian life. The resurrection is not just one Sunday. Pentecost is not just one day. The gifts of the Spirit are not just for a moment. They are ongoing. They are permanent. They are here.
What Are You Still Holding?
Christmas was four days ago. What are you still holding onto? The joy? The peace? The sense that something sacred happened? Or have you already let it go? Today is a chance to return, to stay in the light, to hold the gift a little longer.
Father, thank you for the light that does not fade. The light that entered the world on Christmas morning and has never gone out. Help me to stay in it. Not just for a day, but for all the days. Let the joy of Christmas last beyond the season. Let the peace of your presence be something I carry into the new year. In Jesus' name, Amen.
With honesty and hope,
Claire