Life
is bitter-sweet.
That
is why, in the midst of Christmas – the twelve-day-long celebration of God
coming to be with us – we raise our glasses to remember Stephen (26th Dec),
stoned to death by a mob who felt their world threatened by his beliefs
concerning Jesus;
and
John (27th Dec), exiled to a Roman prison camp, his mind un-hinged enough to
see the world more clearly than most ever do;
and
the Holy Innocents (27th or 28th or 29th Dec), children murdered on the orders
of a ruthless king who brooked no possible rivals.
We
don’t wait until Christmas is over. We do not compartmentalise joy and sadness,
celebration and anguish; because life does not compartmentalise these things.
But neither do they cancel one another out. Instead, they add depth to one
another.
Life
is bitter-sweet. Savour it this Christmas.