Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen

December 28, 2023
Devotional by: Courtney Pittman

It's not somebody who's seen the light
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah

The twinkling lights, cheerful carols, and giggles of a chunky man in a red coat are what come to mind when we think of the holiday season. Christmas is a time of joy and hope and family. It is a time of children playing and sisters hugging. The truth, however, is that the Advent season can be a time of mourning for some. It can be a remembrance of death. It can be a flashback of abuse. It can be a vision of no presents under the tree. Even though some of us are privileged and beyond blessed, it is important to remember that Christmas is not glitz and happiness for everyone.

While this song has been interpreted to mean many things: a salacious anthem, an ode to true love lost, I’ve always listened to it as a broken song of faith found. God is funny. God finds us in the darkest places and makes God’s way through the shattered cracks of our souls. God is there when I scream and yell and cry at my kids. God is there when I have a fight with my husband. God is there when I bare my heart to my therapist, telling her things that I buried deep within myself. God is there. God is always there.

It may be a cold and broken Hallelujah, but it’s a Hallelujah. It’s the recognition that God hasn’t left. That even crying on a freezing bathroom floor, God’s still with you. Even weeping over a bank account with a number that won’t pay this month’s rent, God’s still with you. It’s the knowledge that whatever you do, whatever horrible things you’ve done, God won’t ever leave.

It is a Hallelujah that we’ve lived another day. It is a Hallelujah that no one got in trouble at school today. It is a Hallelujah that the water wasn’t cut off or that you made it through work without crying or that you can finally look at that picture and not breakdown. It’s a cold and it’s a broken Hallelujah. 

It is the knowledge that, even amongst pain and anger, God is giving us the greatest gift of all: A child that will grow to save us from ourselves. It is the knowledge that our God has sent us a Redeemer, someone to give us the love that we may never have had. It is the knowledge that no matter how cold and broken you are, the light of Christ will shine through always. Hallelujah.