How do you respond to the greatest gift?
What does Christmas matter? African American preacher Howard Thurman wrote an often-quoted poem that helps us reflect on that question:
“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 the flocks,
the work of Christmas begins:
to find the lost,
to heal those broken in spirit,
to feed the hungry,
to release the oppressed,
to rebuild the nations,
to bring peace among all peoples,
to make music with the heart…”
On the third Sunday in advent, “Making music with the heart,” is the order of the day – music being the primary mode of worship in our Lessons and Carols service.
But such songs remind us that the real meaning of Christmas is in what it does to our hearts; how it creates and recreates us as human beings made in God’s image.
This final Advent devotional page is short on suggestions for activities, in favor of asking a question: how has Christmas changed you? As we head into a new year, how do you contemplate making a resolution to live differently? Please use the comment form below to get the conversation going.
