Skip to main content

A Season of Visions

And in this season
we call Christmas and Holidays,
Kwanzaa and Hanukkah, Germany’s
Saint Nicholas’ Day, and the Philippines’

Giant Lantern Festival, Columbia’s
Day of Little Candles, and Toronto’s
Cavalcade of Lights, France’s
Joyeux Noël, and Russia’s Grandfather Frost,

let us find unity, cooperation, friendship.
Let us revel in the pretty lights and the decorated trees,
the wintry days and the cozy nights,
the happy faces and the party fun.

Let us feel the grief of the losses of others,
the struggling families in an unbalanced
economy, the addicted caught in some
endless torment, the shamed haunted by

a long-ago abuse, the ill unable to enter
into the many festivities, the lonely shut off
from the busy happy crowds, the prisoners
locked in their regrets and dishonor, the

mentally infirm whose minds no longer work
and whose memories have lost their power.
It is a season of birth, of lights, of glory.
It is a time to remember the dead, to honor

the living, to celebrate, to be generous; a time
to embrace one another, to hug someone warmly,
to smile into the eyes of children; a time to look
beyond the many cruelties and the abasement of people.

A time to see the vision of Jesus fulfilled in our hearts,
not of righteous elites but humbled humans
blundering along, seeking a Star to guide us, exploring
the enduring and inexpressible mystery of love.


© 2017 Timothy Moody

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

We are Made for Human Connection

There are words from Brandi Carlile’s song, “The Story,” that I might sing, and perhaps you, too. “All of these lines across my face Tell you the story of who I am So many stories of where I've been And how I got to where I am But these stories don't mean anything When you've got no one to tell them to” You don’t have to be single or alone to feel the depth of those words. Someone in a longtime marriage or relationship might feel them, too. The voyage through life takes each one of us through an assortment of experiences. Some of them ennoble us. Some crush us. Some lift us beyond ourselves and carry us into the lives of those who need us. And some carry us to those we need. Some experiences are burdens. Others ease and encourage us. Some leave us baffled and unsure. Some build confidence within us and are so affirming that we grow in substance, in courage, in tenderness, and sympathy. As we age, the lines in our faces can represent the hurts we have not yet resolved. Or t
Post a Comment
Read more

If I had five minutes to evacuate--what would I take with me?

If I was told there was a bomb in my building and I had five minutes to evacuate my apartment I’d grab a grocery bag and quickly toss these items into it: 1. A photo of my grandparents, Mom and Pop and me, when I was 15 years old. I learned what love is made of from them. I learned what it is to be kissed on and hugged in arms so tender they felt like God’s arms. I discovered self worth from those two angels in human flesh. Of all the people in my life, they were the ones who made me feel I counted. Honestly, whatever capacity I have to love others came from them. 2. A sentimental, dog-eared, stars in the margin copy of Pat Conroy’s, “The Prince of Tides.” It is a book I have read three times and often return to for its wisdom. It is a harsh, profoundly tragic novel, the story of a family so broken and tortured by such flawed and wounded people that it is sometimes difficult to turn the next page. And yet it is the story of such Herculean courage and endurance that you want
9 comments
Read more

Remembering Dr. Bill Craig

In Memoriam  Dr. Bill Craig January 1, 2020 In the Hebrew Bible, we see from the life of Moses, and the Psalmist, Isaiah and others , concern for the problem of living rather than the problem of dying.   Their primary interest was not how to escape death, but rather, how to sanctify life. Bill modeled that kind of wisdom.  The brilliant novelist Louis L'Amour, who wrote bestselling books about the American West, what he called “frontier stories,” basically said the same thing. He wrote, “The trail is the thing, not the end of the trail.” No one attempted to sanctify life and get more out of the trail than Bill Craig. He was a deep thinker, a gifted veterinarian, a rugged and unbreakable man with the kindest heart and the purest motives.  He was a loving and devoted husband, father, and grandfather. Karen, Shalor and Melissa, Kellan, Nolan and Carter, were his world. They meant everything to him. I guess he had faults, but I don’t remember any of them.  There was o
Post a Comment
Read more