Are you feeling the joy of the season?  Hopefully, you are.  At the same time, I am well aware that many are not.  

The Advent, Christmas, and New Year seasons can not only be exhausting; it can be a sad time of year for more people than you might imagine.  Every year at this time our Prayers of the People on Sunday mornings are filled with prayers of remembrance for loved ones who have died; sometimes decades ago.  Others are facing financial challenges.  Still others are brought down by family gatherings that end in arguments rather than smiles and hugs.

Most people don’t talk about this side of things.  They don’t want to spoil the mood for others.  They also don’t want to look out of place.  So they stay quiet and just try to blend in.  

You shouldn’t have to blend in.

Feeling sad around the holidays is appropriate given the absence of loved ones and other circumstances.  It’s okay to feel the way you do.  In fact, in many ways, those feelings mirror the emotions that surely swirled around the first Christmas.

After all, there was likely more desperation than joy in the hearts of Joseph and Mary as they struggled to find a place for Jesus to be born.  They were among the poor and while Joseph may have had family members in Bethlehem, Mary was far away from her own mother and family when she went into labor in a strange place.

Putting on a happy face around the holidays has its place but it will only take you so far.  At some point, you have to admit what is in your heart.  In those moments, I urge you not to become lost in isolation or despair.  Put yourself around good people.  Push the envelope and attend events where you can find the “sweet” part of “bittersweet.”  

And remember that you are in good company.  More people than you realize feel the way you do.  There is nothing wrong about it.  Just hold on to the truth that you are enveloped by a divine light of love and compassion.  It is there.  Even if you can’t feel it in the moment.  You’re not alone.

See you in church,

–Rev. Dominic