Christmas that Lingers and Leaves an Impression

 

Whether you are still in the Christmas Spirit or ready to put the tree away in the attic, today I offer you the powerful words of the Rev. Dr. Howard Thurman:

 

When the carols have been stilled,
When the star-topped tree is taken down,
When family and friends are gone home,
When we are back to our schedules
The work of Christmas begins:
   To welcome the refugee,
   To heal a broken planet,
   To feed the hungry,
   To build bridges of trust, not walls of fear,
   To share our gifts,
   To seek justice and peace for all people,
   To bring Christ’s light to the world.

 

Which of the words above sang to your soul?  Which of the above invitations stretched your soul?  Which did your soul bellow, “Objection!” because you don’t think you have the energy to engage in the work of Christmas?  Which of the above caused you to think, “Maybe”?  Which of the above baffled and bewildered you? 

 

We live in a world where we think that we know.  We reward confidence and certainty; we snicker sarcastically or call people “flip-floppers” or worse when they have not formed an opinion instantly on everything…because the reality is that our opinions change.  Pause for a moment, because you are not the same person you were a year ago.  Life has changed, and our thinking changes.  The Christmas Season is about bafflement.  We think we know about the baby born in a manger with the songs of angels, but do we let this truth interrupt and disrupt our lives with shepherd-like courage?  Do we seek out the stable-like places today where God is still showing up and angels still singing out?  Remembering that a stable was smelly, musty, dusty, and not exactly where God was expected to make a grand entrance to the world.  That means if we think we know where God is (like church or the halls of power/privilege or with fame/fortune), chances are we are still missing the sacred. The poem/prayer above reminds us that God is with the refugee, fleeing, hiding, and afraid about their paperwork and legal status.  God is with creation, crying out against our seeing soil and trees as mere means to an end and profit.  In the child whose belly is empty, even as we throw away leftovers.  God is in those we wall out both physically and emotionally.  God is with the least, lost, and lonely.  We are called to go like shepherds and wise ones ~ not because we know the truth, but to explore and experience the Eternal truth here and now again…and every day in 2026.  May this be our call and put in our calendars every day.  Amen.