This woodcut invites us to spend time with what it is that has become our darkness in life and birth it into the light. We each enter into different darkness but the outcome is the same. Breaking through it is our only means to light.
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I made this woodcut originally while I was in Germany after visiting a homeless shelter on November 2, 1994. During the Eucharist we each were invited

to pray for people we knew that had died that year. At the offertory the priest lit a candle and said some words in German, which I did not understand, then other people came up and lit more candles and spoke. I witnessed all ages of homeless people coming and placing their candles, weeping and sharing something that touched them about other's lives. Many of the people they mentioned were their roommates in cardboard boxes or the ones they stood in line with to get food from distribution centers. It was a very moving experience for me because I did not understand what they were saying with words but their spirits spoke one of the loudest messages I have ever heard. They so entered into the other person and at that moment crossed over from darkness to light. They had broken through the darkness.

I came away from this experience realizing more fully the impact of Jesus’ birth in my life. It is the call to break through my darkness whether it be alcoholic, hunger, being wounded, angry, frightened, or poor. The angels will enfold us in God's love and create our shelter from further harm if we but break through.

Having made what I thought was a Christmas scene with modern day figures I shared it with some people on my return home and someone commented that it was a nice Resurrection scene. It immediately caused me to break through a darkness I had placed on Christmas and realize that this same scene depicted Christ rising to new life from the cave and embracing all of humanity in the process. The invitation is extended to each of us to unbind our wounds.

One Who Broke Through the Darkness, Woodcut Print, 11″h x 24″w