In Search of Our Kneeling Places

In each heart lies a Bethlehem,
      an inn where we must ultimately answer
          whether there is room or not.
When we are Bethlehem-bound
      we experience our own advent in his.
When we are Bethlehem-bound we can no longer look the other way
          conveniently not seeing stars
              not hearing angel voices.
We can no longer excuse ourselves by busily
      tending our sheep or our kingdoms.
   
This Advent let's go to Bethlehem
      and see this thing that the Lord has made known to us,
In the midst of shopping sprees
      let's ponder in our hearts the Gift of Gifts.
Through the tinsel
      let's look for the gold of the Christmas Star.
In the excitement and confusion, in the merry chaos,
      let's listen for the brush of angels' wings.
This Advent, let's go to Bethlehem
      and find our kneeling places.

Ann Weems, Kneeling in Bethlehem, (The Westminster Press, 1987)