Well, my friends — Christmas has come and gone!
Gifts were selected, bought, wrapped and given.
Cookies baked.
Family and friends entertained.
Candles lit, Pageant performed, Carols sung.
Tree down, ornaments packed away.
Crèche figures wrapped in tissue and boxed until next December.
Christmas is done for another year — right ???
NOT. ON. YOUR. LIFE. — FAR FROM IT!!
What is DONE is only the celebration of the traditions we have created to observe and enjoy Christmas… the TRUE celebration of Christmas — which is the birth of LOVE— happens every time WE help to birth that Love in our hurting world -- ALL YEAR LONG!
Howard Thurman’s poem “The Work Of Christmas” sums this up so beautifully… (click here to listen to the choral anthem inspired by this poem which our choir will sing this Sunday)
When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flocks,
The work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among brothers,
To make music in the heart.
The Rev. Dr. Howard Thurman (1899-1981) was one of the most deeply brilliant, insightful, faith-filled human beings ever to have lived. African-American theologian, pastor, gifted educator, philosopher, author, mystic and prominent civil-rights leader, he has been described as a “spiritual genius “ who played a leading role in many social justice movements in the 20th century. He traveled extensively, meeting with prominent world figures including Mahatma Gandhi. When he asked Gandhi what message he should take back to the United States, Gandhi remarked that he regretted not having made NON-VIOLENCE more visible as a practice worldwide.
And it was, indeed, through Thurman that the message of non-violence was then brought to the world! His theology of radical non-violence shaped an entire generation of civil rights activists.
He was an important mentor to countless civil rights leaders — including the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. whose father had been a classmate of Thurman’s in Morehouse College. Thurman was a dean at Boston University while MLK, Jr. was studying for his doctorate there and King would take copious notes when Thurman preached. Six months after earning his doctorate , Martin Luther King led his first nonviolent mass protest in Montgomery, Alabama.
Thurman’s passion for peace and love encourages us to bring Christmas Light to the darkness of the world on EACH of the 365 days of the year.
How do we start doing that???
We listen for God’s whispers and act when God “nudges” — to use our passions and our resources to “make a difference…”
Says Thurman:
“The true meaning of Christmas is expressed in the sharing of one’s graces. In a world in which it is so easy to become callous, insensitive and hard…. Once this spirit becomes part of one’s life, EVERY day is Christmas and every night is freighted with anticipation of the dawning of fresh — and perhaps HOLY, adventure.“
How can you continue to make Christmas happen in 2024???
How will YOU make music in the heart?
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