Out of the Cellar
Our cellar is one of those straight out of a horror film. The steps are warped and uneven, and there’s no railing to hold which makes getting to the bottom feel like a death-defying feat. Most people over 10 have to duck to get inside and, once there, I pray the single light overhead is not burned out. The floor is dirt and brick, and the old furnace in the corner looks like it may come alive and lurch toward me at any moment. There are wires precariously dangling from exposed beams, and holes that lead to various crawl spaces where I have seen the occasional beady eyes glowing in a dark corner.
But contained within that dusty, dingy cellar are precious keepsakes, treasured photos and beautiful decorations for the holidays. Since it’s Christmastime I’ve been in and out of the cellar a lot lately, dusting off boxes of ornaments and decorations to place around our home to make it warm and festive.
Four years ago, I could barely bring myself to decorate our home. My dad’s health was quickly declining and we were taking things day by day. My mom invited me to attend a concert in his place. Despite our weariness, we dressed up and made our way to The Palladium for the Festival of Carols. There are two ways I handle suffering. One is numbness. When my marriage fell apart, I fell into a nearly catatonic state. I didn’t know what day it was or which one of my friends had my kids. The other path of suffering, the one I took during my dad’s imminent death, was quite the opposite. This path consists of a keen sense of awareness, a hyper-consciousness of my senses. All of my feelings lie just beneath the surface.
It was at this concert that I first heard what has now become my favorite Christmas carol, The Dream Isaiah Saw. The lyrics are taken from Isaiah 11, and give us a picture of the prophet Isaiah’s vision for our damaged and defective world. The carol, like the Scripture, describes a world where there is no more animosity, no fear, no danger.
The carol goes on to outline how creation will be restored through the birth and the eventual resurrection of Christ. A child who came into this world, not in a sweet little barn, rather - I imagine - in a place more like our cellar. Dirty, cold, and scary. Yet in the midst of it, there lay a treasure who will one day make all things beautiful.
I hung on every lyric and allowed every beat of the robust percussion to permeate my body as the song crescendoed to a powerful completion. Tears streamed down my face, not just at the thought of losing my dad, but because I was reminded that this is not the end of his story, our story, or any story.
As I write this, many of you are gathering with friends and family. There is laughter and joy and a general spirit of celebration. Yet, some of my friends are suffering. Yesterday, one of my dearest college friends lost her sister to cancer. Two friends have sons in treatment centers. Another friend has a brother who wants nothing to do with her, and yet another is grieving the loss of her marriage. Friends, you know this already but let me state the obvious: this is a messy, sad, damaged world we live in. It hurts. So badly sometimes. And the pain doesn’t let up just because it’s Christmas. In fact, we tend to feel this sort of pain even more profoundly at Christmastime.
My heart aches for those of you who are stuck in that damn cellar. I so desperately want to come dust you off and bring you out of that place so we can unpack the treasure. So you can uncover beauty and goodness. But for now I offer this carol so one day you know the sadness, loneliness and despair will cease. Listen to this song and know that one day God will redeem all things. All things will be restored.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEKVcAIG0BY
Lions and oxen will feed in the hay,
Leopards will join with the lambs as they play,
Wolves will be pastured with cows in the glade,
Blood will darken the Earth that God made.
Little child whose bed is straw,
Take new lodgings in my heart.
Bring the dream Isaiah saw:
Life redeemed from fang and claw.
Peace will pervade more than forest and field:
God will transfigure the Violence concealed
Deep in the heart of systems gain,
Ripe for the judgment the Lord will ordain.
Little Child whose bed is straw,
Take new lodgings in my heart.
Bring the dream Isaiah saw:
Justice purifying law.
Nature reordered to match God’s intent,
Nations obeying the call to repent,
All of creation completely restored,
Filled with the knowledge and love of the Lord.
