Image: George Mendoza
On the church calendar, the Christmas season ends today
with the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Our prayer begins
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 others,
To make music in the heart.
As this holy season ends, Lord,
I offer you my heart and hands
to do the work of Christmas
in the new year just ahead...
I offer you my intention
to live selflessly and simply,
generously and humbly
- as you did, Lord...
I offer you my willingness to reach out
to those on the margins, the lost and forgotten,
the excluded and abandoned
- as you did, Lord...
I offer you the sacrifice of my comfort
that I might share from my bounty
with the hungry and the homeless
- as you did, Lord...
I offer you my desire to heal and not to hurt,
to mend and do no harm,
to pardon and forgive
- as you did, Lord...
I offer you the time that's mine
to reach out and to console
the brokenhearted with compassion
- as you did, Lord...
I offer you my prayer
to live in peace with those around me,
friends and enemies alike
- as you did, Lord...
And I offer you my pledge
to sing in harmony with all
your gospel's song of saving love
- as you did, Lord...
As these holy days are ending
I offer you my heart and hands
for the work that's now beginning, Lord,
the work of Christmas peace...
Amen.
Monday Morning Offerings don't usually come with
music, but here's a beautiful choral setting of poem above...
The Work of Christmas by Dan Forrest
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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 others,
To make music in the heart.
- Howard Thurman
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