Well, here we are again and in just a few hours we will gather, in person or online, to hear again the ancient story that touches our beings with light and love. This morning I simply want to wish each of you a blessed season. My prayer is that you will have a moment to sit beneath the Bethlehem star and feel the presence and power of love. May you open your heart to possibility and allow the light of the world to shine in you and through you.
In the words of Ann Weems, here is my Christmas wish for you
What I’d really like to give you for Christmas is a star…
Brilliance in a package,
something you could keep in the pocket of your jeans
or in the pocket of your being.
Something to take out in times of darkness,
something that would never snuff out or tarnish,
something you could hold in your hand,
something for wonderment,
something for pondering,
something that would remind you of
what Christmas has always meant:
God’s Advent Light into the darkness of this world.
But stars are only God’s for giving,
and I must be content to give you words and wishes
and packages without stars.
But I can wish you life
as radiant as the Star
that announces the Christ Child’s coming,
and as filled with awe as the shepherds who stood beneath its light.
And I can pass on to you the love
that has been given to me,
ignited countless times by others
who have knelt in Bethlehem’s light.
Perhaps, if you ask, God will give you a star.
Ann Weems, Kneeling in Bethlehem, The Westminster Press, 1980.
Blessings
Valerie
© 2020 Rev. Valerie Peyton Kingsbury. All rights reserved.