Monday, December 17, 2012

The Heart of Christmas is Love (Sunday, December 16, 2012)


The Heart of Christmas is Love

At the heart of this sacred season
is love,
pure and simple;
and the essence of this season
is the sacred life that abides in love,
whether long ago in Bethlehem,
or where we are,
right here, right now.


This is the whole reason
for the splendor and the miracle;
it is the whole reason
for our being here, in this church,
on this Earth, together.


We are here to love:
not just when it warms our hearts;
but even (perhaps especially)
when the fires of love seem to have gone out,                                                                                                         or when not loving would warm our hearts
quite sufficiently with that roaring fire of anger and rage.


But it is only through love
that the world is made new again,
and the purpose of Creation
brought to its completion.
Hatred and anger do not build
the holy stable where the blessed one is born:
only love does.


Even when the command to love
leaves us cold, the miracle of Christmas reminds us
we must love even in our deepest winters
if the flowers of new life are ever to blossom
in our hearts, and in our lives, and in our world.


jbs
1/24/05     12/19/05     12/16/12

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