Commentary: When peace on earth seems out of grasp, a ‘Blue Christmas’ service offers hope

Four years after moving to coastal Southern California, I still smile when I see Christmas shoppers clad in tank tops, Hawaiian shirts, yoga pants or shorts, ambling to songs that are ecstatically asking for snow so we can dash in it.

We know it’s not going to snow. We tend to hear and hum along with the songs of the season, whether or not we mean it.

The same dynamic is at work with many people when the music turns to Andy Williams singing, “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” We want it to be true in some fashion. But the sentiment may be as ill-fitting for some of us as a horse-drawn sleigh on Coast Highway .

Simply put, Christmas can be an incredibly difficult time.

The reasons vary: The first Christmas with an empty chair where a favored aunt used to sit; a table that is more sparse than years past; or that weird feeling that “everyone has a little ho-ho-ho in their voice but me.”

If you are one of those for whom Christmas is a difficult time — for reasons external or internal — you are not alone. While there is no reason to resent those for whom the season is merry and bright, there is likewise no reason to ignore those for whom the season is a challenge.

It may be helpful to know that the biblical Christmas story honors darkness as well as light, recognizing the strange, interdependence between the two. It is during the long watch of the night that shepherds are the first to hear the announcement of a newborn savior. It is in the dark sky that the magi see a new star at its rising and discern from it that a king has been born.

And with respect to darkness as a metaphor, Luke begins his familiar Christmas story by reminding readers of their subservience to Caesar Augustus. Even the captivating story of the magi ends with horror, echoing the slaughter of innocents from throughout history. The Christmas story brings “good news of great joy,” but it does so with frank recognition that the world can be a dreary reality for many folks.

It is beautiful and appropriate when Christmas is celebrated with happy religious carols and snappy secular songs. The story of Christmas can also be appropriately honored with songs in minor keys, lighted candles of remembrance, tears and stories that embrace the darkness.

In the Christian tradition, that is what a “Blue Christmas” service tries to offer. When peace of mind, much less peace on earth, seems just out of one’s grasp, a “Blue Christmas” service offers hope. Hope is hope, precisely when the thing hoped for is not yet an experienced reality.

If you want to celebrate Christmas, but find life to be more jaded than jolly, I invite you to attend a “Blue Christmas” service, where the story can speak to your pain as well as your hope.

MARK DAVIS is the pastor of St. Mark Presbyterian Church in Newport Beach, which is hosting a Blue Christmas service at 5 p.m. Dec. 16.