I woke up this Christmas Day.
A day gifts and treats are shared with family and friends.
A day we are told a special child was born in Bethlehem to rest in his poor mother’s arms.
On this day we celebrate his birthday.
But do we not celebrate every child’s natal day,
With a wink and smile,
With joyful reverence,
For every infant birthed in the human family,
Don’t we offer deference,
and compassion
An enchanted reverie?
For each new born
faces the all to human tragedy
And suffers life’s sundry turns
Where human understanding must in fear and trembling learn
to discern the light in all the worlds best offerings
Doesn’t every mother see her new born — son or daughter,
As a special gift to humanity.
As her infant smiles, cries and sucks
the milk of life she is giving,
Savor the thought
She may have birthed a great king,
A doctor,
a teacher,
A Martin Luther King, even
A Buddha or
A Christ,
A messiah who will bring light to answer everything?
She may have brought forth a genius or an apostle of truth and great wisdom for all humanity.
So as we exchange our gifts
and bask in the joy of our own special community,
Let’s recall the fate of Mary’s child
and the innocent slain on our altars
of greed, pride, and thievery.
For throughout today’s unforgiving world few mothers are granted even half their wish. Indeed,
many see the light go out before the dawning of a single day.
What leads us to engage in such savagery
And sacrifice our children
To delusional wins,
Of fighting for power and control
to hold permanently?
Instead let’s strive to remember
the light and the art of sharing,
Instead share the light and make
for our children —
A world worth giving,
One worth living,
Instead let’s celebrate the blessings of incarnate light
this Christmas Day,
Let it warm our hearts
and challenge us all to light the light
in everyone we meet this day and tomorrow too.
Merry Christmas and may we shine the light of Christ in all our living.
THH
12/25/
Thoughts Have Hands 