The Babe has been born. Today will be one of family gatherings, sharing gifts and stories, talking about plans for the year to come. But, not for everyone. Thousands of people in our communities, wrenched from their families, friends, and neighbors still languish in ICE custody, homeless persons still shiver against the cold and fear the snow that we will have this weekend, and many people still don’t have enough to eat.
So, we ask ourselves, what has changed? What does Christmas mean after the church services where we are told that this birth will change the world? The cynics tell us that we follow a pipe dream, that nothing has changed. Where is the Christmas magic? It’s all in our heads, they say.
The cynics have it all wrong. God’s presence often comes to us through seemingly insignificant events, when we didn’t expect anything at all to happen. God’s presence comes to us when we open ourselves to the realization that we can truly use God’s power in us to take the many small actions that result in real change. The Babe has been born. It is up to us now.
Prayer for the Day
You come to us, O God, through a baby born into poverty;
Let us do more than remember that so many children are so born;
You come to us, O God, through a woman struggling in labor;
Let us do more than remember that so many mothers struggle.
Do more than engage us, galvanize us and empower us,
So we truly do more than pray but transform this world.
In the name of the One who is our source of strength,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
I am that living feeling essence of the divine substance that glows in the beauty of the fields. I shine in the water.. I shine in the sun and the moon and the stars
Hildegard of Bingen, poet, mystic (1098-1179)
Walker, there is no path; the path is made by walking
Antonio Machado, Spanish poet (1875-1939)
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed
Luke 2:15-18