Christmas Eve

✠ | TODAY'S READINGS

Many times this Advent I have just wanted to wave the white flag. Retreats, baking, tree trimming, gift wrapping, grading, emails, reports, COVID tests, cleaning. I surrender.

Surrender. It is frequently uttered with begrudging shame, remorse or guilt and equated with defeat. If I had only planned better, kept to a schedule, worked a little hard, reflected more, prayed more…I wouldn’t be where I am on Christmas Eve: stressed, exhausted, deflated and defeated. I surrender.

But in life of faith is surrender really defeat? Might it not be understood differently? If the prophets, the apostles, or the saints hadn’t surrendered where would we be? What if Mary hadn’t surrendered to God’s invitation to give birth to Jesus? It was hardly a surrender in the face of defeat but rather one that yielded great glory and exultation.

For our Muslim sisters and brothers the word Islam means Surrender to Allah. The Prophet Muhammad and his followers did just that at great cost to reputation, family and community. Surrendering is a cornerstone of this tradition.

In the Hebrew (and Christian) scriptures God surrendered total power and control when God granted humans the choice of free will. Reciprocally, the Hebrew word for blessing is berachah which comes from the root word berekh meaning knee. The implication is we receive blessings when we go on bended knee in our humility before Yahweh.

Surrendering is the genesis of God’s relationship with humankind. It is etched in the covenant made with Abraham. Abraham responded to God’s invitation to surrender and say YES. Abraham’s YES reflects that God’s plans are too incomprehensible for mere humans to fully grasp.

When the Angel Gabriel announced to Mary she would become the Mother of God, Mary’s YES was a surrender that would reverberate throughout the ages. It was a surrender of control, one of courage and faith, a decision of trust that opened her heart, mind and body to God. Yet it also led to countless moments of despair, anguish and uncertainty as to the safety and well-being of her young son. It culminated in witnessing the agony of his persecution, trial, torture and death. Surrendering is far more than capitulation or resignation in the face of defeat, even when it comes with pain, emptiness, fear or desolation. It is an affirmation, a YES of great courage, trust and love.

Born from, and sharing unconditional love with all, Jesus fully understood that he was here for something far greater and remarkable than any of us might imagine. He knelt and surrendered his life for all created in his image with unwavering love.

Today, Christians celebrate the eve of one of the most profound gifts of love: the Incarnation. God’s love, so deep, so vast, so inconceivable and unconditional that God became human in order to share this love generously, intimately and totally. What would it mean to surrender to that love? To absolutely succumb? Not because in the aftermath everything will become easy and painless, but because it means growing in relationship with God.

Surrendering to God is a form of prayer, a prayer that brings us to a deeper understanding of who we are in relationship to God. It is vulnerability, and the acknowledgment that we don’t have all the answers. And that is perfectly acceptable to God. We aren’t being asked to try and solve the mystery of God, but rather simply find joy, delight and love in all that God has created. So what if we didn’t spend the time in prayer that we had planned? God is far more understanding and forgiving of us than we are of ourselves.

This pandemic with its new variant, the dismal economic forecast, the political upheaval in our country and the world have done nothing but add to our stress and anxiety. It is Christmas Eve and perhaps we are gloomy or depressed for those reasons or nothing discernable. Like Christmas tree lights, my life is always in a tangle. I have to remind myself that Advent should be about nourishing my soul. The rest is literally just wrapping and tinsel.

So maybe I need to just take a deep breath. Sit in the disarray and chaos. Sit with the unfinished tasks. It’s fine. Sit in the silence. Be still. Recognize the incomprehensible miracle of life in the faces of those I love. Consider Mary, Joseph and their son Jesus in the manger. Surrender to a love that is bold, audacious, and profound.

Perhaps we can take a moment before we go about our day to stop, contemplate, and  surrender to our souls feeling their worth; the worth that the Infant Jesus sees in each of us every moment of every day. Surrender to the unconditional love of our God who came to us, as one of us, to be with us. Surrender to YES.

Merry Christmas.

Alexandria M. Egler, Ph.D.
Executive Director of Mission, Ministry & Interfaith Dialogue
St. Francis College