Christmas is already a stressful time of the year; gifts to buy, social gatherings, travel to see family, no one needed more stress or worry caused by the pandemic. Few would have thought that they would have to go through a second COVID Christmas. The proliferation and rapid spread of the Omicron variant has caught many off guard. The last minute imposition of restrictions by various health authorities has caused many cancellations and anguish for many. Family gatherings to which so many were looking forward have been reduced in size or cancelled again. Businesses have been shuttered due to lack of staff or because of the mandated restrictions.

For many this will be a harder Christmas than last year. Last year, we all “sacrificed” Christmas in hopes that we could protect each other and so that we could have the next Christmas together.

Most of us probably thought that once the vaccine was available, our pandemic woes would come to an end, our prayers would be answered, and life would return to normal. For a while, it seemed that way, most of the population got their vaccines, cases of infection went down, fewer people were hospitalized; but just as we started to wind down the year and head into Christmas, everything fell apart.

For Christians around the world, Christmas is a very special time, it is a holy time to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Saviour. And once again, COVID is cancelling faith gatherings on one of the most important festivals of the Christian liturgical calendar. Earlier today, the Bishop of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, the Right Reverend Sandra Fyfe, suspended in-person worship services in Nova Scotia until at least after 12 January (https://www.nspeidiocese.ca/df_media/W1siZiIsIjIwMjEvMTIvMjIvMTEvMjYvMDgvOTk4MzVhZjktNGM0MS00OGY5LWE5YzEtNTUzOGFkN2E5NGU5L0RlYyAyMDIxIE1lc3NhZ2UgZnJvbSBCaXNob3AgU2FuZHJhICgyKS5wZGYiXV0/Dec%202021%20Message%20from%20Bishop%20Sandra%20%282%29.pdf?sha=cf5b444110363497). This means all there will be no in-person worship during the 12 days of Christmas. Many Christians are disappointed and some will feel their faith challenged.

While we all want to think Christmas is all about angels descending, and magi bringing gifts, joy and happiness, it is but one facet of story of Christmas. We must not forget that the Christmas story is one of pain and suffering as well; a tired Joseph and Mary after a long journey were unable to find comfortable lodgings the night Jesus was born, that Mary had to give birth in a stable, that soon after Herod would murder innocent children and forcing Mary and Joseph to flee to Egypt. For bearing the Christ-child, the Messiah, the King of Kings, Joseph and Mary did not have it easy and their faith must also have been tested.

God works in mysterious ways, and the path to God is never an easy one; but as they say, it’s about the journey, not the destination. Those of faith who trust in the Lord will find ways to appreciate and worship the majesty of God, despite the challenges. It is easy to love God when everything goes well, it is much harder to love God when everything is going wrong, but God is with us through it all and we must embrace him in our hearts during the good and the bad.

In-person worship may not be possible this Christmas, but that doesn’t mean God has abandoned us. God is always with us and He hears our prayers. For those who desire a bit more structure and formalized worship, I encourage the praying of the Daily Office or the Canonical Hours, a form of prayer practiced by Christians since the beginning of Christianity and has it roots in ancient Jewish prayers.

We’re all tired of this pandemic, we all can’t wait for it to be over. Perhaps in these “dark” times we can’t see it ending, but it will. Humanity has endured longer periods of suffering and misfortune; there is a light that will guide us out of darkness, we will one day be able to celebrate the joys of this world, all just have a little faith, especially when it can be hard to hold on to it, and that is the true Christmas story.