Song for the New Year (Excerpt)

Old time has turned another page

of eternity and truth;

He reads with a warning voice to age,

And whispers a lesson to youth.

A year has fled o'er heart and head

Since last the yule log burnt;

And we have a task to closely ask,

What the bosom and brain have learnt?

Oh! let us hope that our sands have run

With wisdom's precious grains;

Oh! May we find that our hands have done

Some work of glorious pains.

Then a welcome and cheer to a merry new year,

While the holly gleams above us;

With a pardon for the foes who hate,

And a prayer for those who love us.

We may have seen some loved ones pass

To the land of hallow'd rest;

We may miss the glow of an honest brow

And the warmth of a friendly breast;

But if we nursed them while on earth,

With hearts all true and kind,

Will their spirits blame the sinless mirth

Of those true hearts left behind?

No, no! It were not well or wise

To mourn with endless pain;

There's a better world beyond the skies,

Where the good shall meet again.

Then a welcome and cheer to the merry new year,

While the holly gleams above us;

With a pardon for the foes who hate,

and a prayer for those who love us.

Eliza Cook, public domain, published in Poem-a-Day, December 29, 2019, by the Academy of American Poets

When the Song of the Angels Is Stilled

When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and the 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 between brothers and sisters,
To make music in the heart.

Howard Thurman

The Prayer of Saint Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
      where there is hatred, let me sow love,
      where there is injury, pardon,
      where there is doubt, faith,
      where there is despair, hope,
      where there is darkness, light,
      where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master:
      grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console,
      to be understood as to understand,
      to be loved as to love,
      for it is in giving that we receive,
      it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
      it is in dying to self that we are born to eternal life.

Francis of Assisi, Italy, 13th century
   

Christmas Blessing

May the coming of Christ
deepen your wonder
and widen your gratitude.

May the helpless child
bring forth your tenderness
and strengthen your love.

May the gentle mother
give you courage to embrace the holy
and find the divine within yourself.

May the child who shares our death
bring light into your darkness
and hope to your weariness.

May the holy family in the stable
open your heart to the poor,
the homeless, the refugee.

May the child sought by soldiers
embolden you to cry out
and empower you to resist injustice.

May the angels who sing above you
awaken your heart
and surround you with beauty.

May the One Who Comes
remind you of your belovedness
and fill you with kindness and mercy
and give you joy.

Steve Garness-Holmes, unfoldinglight.net. December 23, 2019

What Do I Want for Christmas

What do I want for Christmas?
I want to kneel in Bethlehem,
    the air thick with alleluias,
        the angels singing
            that God is born among us.
In the light of the Star,
    I want to see them come,
        the wise ones and the humble.
I want to see them come
    bearing whatever they treasure
        to lay at the feet
            of him who gives his life.

What do I want for Christmas?
To see in that stable
    the whole world kneeling in thanks
        for a promise kept:
            new life.
For in his nativity
    we find ours.

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

Are you ready for Christmas?

What does "ready" mean?

Boxes with bows, shining paper neatly trimmed
and taped, a heap of planning.

I always worry nothing I give
is enough. Wishing to share a mood,

breeze, hope, a better idea . . . I want the kids
in Gaza to have electricity all day long

and the kids in Bethelem to feel peace with
their neighbors and no walls blocking movements,

no kids sad about houses crushed or
parents disappeared. I want no trees uprooted.

O little town of Bethlehem, might the year end
on a high note of joy?

Could people in hospitals
come bounding forth, suddenly well,

and no one feel abandoned? Everyone surprised
by love. A man said,

Whatever you are planning to give,
give twice as much.

That's what I want.
Then I will be ready.

Naomi Shihab Nye, "Christmas Is Coming!: Celebrate the Holiday with Art, Stories, Poems. Songs, and Recipes" (Harry N. Abrams, 2019)

Prayer of Peace

God, when I close my eyes to this world

may your presence nudge me awake.

When I am weary and ready to quit,

your passion for this world energize me.

When I am hopeless, your gaze raise me up.

When I am afraid, your love enfold me.

When I am angry and want to blame,

your kindness sweep me off my feet.

When I am bitter and ready to fight,

your forgiveness quiet me.

When I find myself in a land of sorrow,

your presence accompany me.

When I am broken and I despair,

your delight make me whole.

God of grace, as you send me into this world

may your hope live in me, your love, your joy.

Steve Garnass-Holmes, unfoldinglight.net