Today’s poems are by African American theologian Howard Thurman (November 18, 1899 – April 10, 1981) an influential American author, philosopher, theologian, educator and civil rights leader. He was Dean of Chapel at Howard University and Boston University for more than two decades, wrote 21 books, and in 1944 Thurman cofounded San Francisco’s Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples, the first integrated, interfaith religious congregation in the United States. I am posting both because they are so powerful I could not choose between them. They are from the book The Mood of Christmas and Other Celebrations
“The Work of Christmas”
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 flock,
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 people,
To make music in the heart.
in The Mood of Christmas & Other Celebrations (1985)
Christmas Is Waiting to be Born
Where refugees seek deliverance that never comes
And the heart consumes itself as if it would live,
Where children age before their time
And life wears down the edges of the mind,
Where the old man sits with mind grown cold,
While bones and sinew, blood and cell, go slowly down to death,
Where fear companions each day’s life,
And Perfect Love seems long delayed.
CHRISTMAS IS WAITING TO BE BORN:
In you, in me, in all mankind.
The Mood of Christmas & Other Celebrations (1985)
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by Lilly Lewin
I love that the season of Christmas really starts on December 25th and runs til Epiphany on January 6th when we celebrate the Light coming to the Gentiles and the arrival of the Magi. It gives us all extra time to consider this Light, the Prince of Peace who comes for all the world.
How are you receiving the Light so far this Christmas? If you are like me, you are still in recovery mode from family festivities and you need more space to reflect on Jesus and all the Incarnation actually means for yourself and our planet.
How are you receiving the Prince of Peace? How do you need to receive Him? Pause. Consider how you can receive his peace today.
Take a few minutes to breathe in the peace of Jesus before you read on. Picture Jesus placing a blanket of peace and protection on your shoulders, surrounding you in his love. What color is the blanket? What’s the texture like? How does this blanket make you feel? Breathe in his peace, breathe out any stress or fear you may be carrying in your body. This may take several deep breaths and several minutes to actually sink in. Receive the Prince of Peace.
What does it look like to bring Light and Peace to our broken world today?
Do you know what it really means to be a peacemaker in your neighborhood, in your city, your family, etc?
I know that Jesus says that peacemakers are blessed, but I’m not sure I really know how to live this out well in my everyday world. One of the people who is teaching me more about peacemaking and bringing peace to our world is Jon Huckins. Jon is the co-founder of the Global Immersion project. The mission of Global Immersion Project “is training people of faith to engage our divided world in restorative ways.” Jon lives in San Diego and crosses the border on a regular basis. He has built friendships with Border Agents, refugees and the people on the ground working in Mexico and the States. Jon leads teams to the border to learn more and listen to real people, to see and hear their stories, not just the sound bites on the news.
Today Jon posted this on facebook:
“As we celebrate the birth of a deliverer born in Bethlehem (Palestine) under the weight of violent occupation, I am grateful for my dear Palestinian friends who show us what peace looks like as they follow Jesus under occupation in Bethlehem today. We see you and, in you, we see Jesus.
As we celebrate the selfless courage of a mother, Mary, fleeing violence while seeking safety, hope and welcome, I am grateful for immigrant friends who teach me to trust in the liberating power of Jesus in ways I can hardly imagine. We see you and, in you, we see Jesus.
The Jesus story didn’t just happen. It is happening. It isn’t only a passive celebration of the past, it is an active participation in God’s (and our) future.
May we have the eyes to see Jesus born in and around us everyday. May our seeing disrupt our assumptions of who is “in” and who is “out,” uncover our false allegiances to any kingdom other than God’s and liberate us to live like the Jesus we talk about.”
That’s my prayer this Christmas and the New Year ahead. To have the eyes to see Jesus born in and around me everyday! I want to see Jesus in the people and places I go in my neighborhood. I want to have eyes to see and ears to hear what Jesus hears and see what Jesus sees, not be blind, and not just see what my bias and privilege sees.
I want to BE a peacemaker not just wish for peace! and I want live in the reality that everyone is welcome at the manger!
If you want to learn more about peacemaking, check out Mending the Divides: Creative Love in a Conflicted World by Jon Huckins and Jer Swigart
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I don’t usually post multiple times (except when I am having fun with prayers!) but I wanted to make you aware of this special opportunity before the early bird tickets are all gone.
March 29-31st, 2019 I will be in Austin Tx for The New Story Festival. This is my first official speaking engagement after my new book The Gift of Wonder is released. I will facilitate a 90 minute workshop around the topic of my book. I would love it if you can join me. And here’s the deal – sign up using my special code NSF1187 and you will get a special $20 discount and I will get $40 towards my travel expenses. So NSF1187 for a special deal. But hurry the Early Bird Special ends in a few days.
Presenters and performers like Nadia Bolz-Weber, Rev. angel Kyodo williams, Charles Eisenstein, Over the Rhine, Carrie Rodriguez, Brian McLaren, Amparo Garcia-Crow, and so many more will be there at the New Story Festival, March 29-31, 2019, in Austin, Texas!
Early Bird Tickets Fly Away on Dec. 31st!
We just wanted to give you this quick reminder that Early Bird Tickets are available right now for just $179, and that this special deal ends on Monday, December 31st. Purchase your tickets for the New Story Festival now for the lowest available price. Don’t forget to use the special code NSF1187 so that everyone knows you are one of my friends!!!
Hope that you can join me – and bring your friends too!!!
I love this Christmas poem by Madeleine L’Engle. It is a perfect one to reflect on as we continue our walk either through Advent or through the 12 days of Christmas and prepare our hearts for the new year. You might also like to check out one of my favourite Christmas books by Madeleine L”Engle The Glorious Impossible with wonderful frescos from the Scrovegni Chapel by Giotto
First Coming
By Madeleine L’Engle
He did not wait till the world was ready,
till men and nations were at peace
He came when the Heavens were unsteady
and prisoners cried out for release.
He did not wait for the perfect time.
He came when the need was deep and great.
He dined with sinners in all their grime,
turned water into wine. He did not wait
till hearts were pure. In joy he came
to a tarnished world of sin and doubt.
To a world like ours, of anguished shame
He came, and his Light would not go out.
He came to a world which did not mesh,
to heal its tangles, shield its scorn.
In the mystery of the Word made Flesh
the Maker of the stars was born.
We cannot wait till the world is sane
to raise our songs with joyful voice,
for to share our grief, to touch our pain,
He came with Love: Rejoice! Rejoice!
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Thank you for helping make 2018 such a successful year for us on Godspace. For many of you Godspace has become the go to place for daily devotions and church resources. Our 30 authors from 5 countries have worked hard to provide you with reflections, poetry and liturgies from a variety of perspectives and you have responded with many encouraging remarks, expressions of thanks, and support.
We appreciate those who tell us how much they enjoy our regular features – Meditation Monday and Freerange Friday. Others delight in the rich array of poetic offerings and the resources we make available for church services and other gatherings.
I am amazed that over 600 of you have downloaded our free resources with Advent in a Jar and our Maundy Thursday Agape Liturgy being the most popular. Dozens more have emailed me about the prayers and liturgies they use in meetings and services. Godspace is increasingly known as more than a blog. It is an important resource center.
In spite of a struggling beginning to the year, we have had over 250,000 visitors. We have worked hard to revitalize Godspace after a rather traumatic transition that left us without a lot of our photos and broken links to resources. I am so grateful that with the help of our new web team coordinated by Julie Bonn Blank and Hilary Horn’s assistance and graphic design skills, we have not only been able to repair many of these links but also give our resources a fresh new appearance.
3 Ways You Can Help Us
As we head into 2019 I think we can make Godspace better than ever with more resources for you and your church. Here is how you can help:
- Spread the word about Godspace. Continue to use Godspace resources. Give us feedback and let us know what new resources would be most beneficial to you. Let your friends know about our website and how they could benefit from what we make available. Encourage them to sign up on our mailing list or Facebook page.
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May you continue to grow towards the light of Christ and deepen your relationship with the One who came to renew, restore and make all things new.
Merry Christmas to all of you, to your families and to your church communities.
God bless,
Christine Sine
by Christine Sine
As I prepare for the new year and my intended focus “Let God’s newness emerge” I am constantly looking for prayers I can use regularly to keep my focus on God and God’s purposes for me. Today’s prayer, which I understand Mother Theresa used every day is a beautiful prayer from the 19th century Catholic theologian John Henry Newman.
The line that particularly held my attention and which I have spent time reflecting on this morning is “be in me that every soul I come in contact with may feel your presence in my soul.” What I wonder do I need to commit to in the new year so that others are able to sense God’s presence in my soul at all times? I think it is a question that all of us should ponder at this season.
Help me to spread Your fragrance everywhere I go.
Flood my soul with Your spirit and life.
Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly,
that my life may only be a radiance of Yours.
Shine through me, and be so in me that every soul I come in
contact with may feel Your presence in my soul.
Let them look up and see no longer me but only Jesus!
Stay with me and then I shall begin to shine as You shine,
so to shine as to be a light to others; The light, O Jesus will be
all from You; none of it will be mine;
It will be you shining on others through me. (John Henry Newman.)
For those that wonder why I post so many prayers like this, and why poetry is such an important part of Godspace I suggest you read this article: Why Reading Poetry Is Good For Your Brain Evidently poetry helps us reflect and is good for our memory and cognitive health. No wonder there is a resurgence of interest in poetry. No wonder so many of us still love to recite poems we learned as kids and no wonder a growing number of us like to write poetry.
What kind of poetry do you love to listen to, recite or write?
The day after Christmas is a letdown for many of us. Perhaps we are despondent for simple reasons – we didn’t get what we wanted, we ate too much, the day passed too quickly. Others lament the loss of loved ones and the aching loneliness it brought to the Christmas season. Some lament the political struggles of the last year and the growing chaos of our world. Others lament the overwhelming impact of climate change.
Whatever saddens this day after Christmas for you, read through this poem by Ana Lisa De Jong and be refreshed.
Many blessings
Are you waiting in the blue?
Is blue the colour of your heart.
Or blue the light that
falls upon your path.
Is blue the weight
that sits upon your frame.
Or blue the echo to resonate
within your chest.
Is blue the hue that covers you like snow,
or clouds carrying rain.
Is blue the light that envelops you,
or in the pain that pushes at your chest.
Remember blue is another colour with which
you are held close.
Loss lengthening like shadows in the longest night,
is always the underside of life lived to its full.
Until its treasure all consumed for now,
is wrung out like rain washed clothes.
Then blue is the light that covers you,
while what is waiting in the wings takes some unseen shape.
Grows ready like the burning sun to come round,
and burn through the vestiges of what remains.
Blue, the space between the old and new,
is the gentle pallbearer of your pain,
whose job is done when life
restored enters in,
to lift the covering edge
and do its alchemy of love,
absorbing the blue
in its rainbow hues.
Yes, are you walking blue?
Has blue become the weight in your step.
Grief that knows its season
will recede back, to greet the sun.
And if not yet,
then be assured of shortening nights to come.
Ana Lisa de Jong
Living Tree Poetry
December 2018
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