Shepherds' surprise

After Luke 2:8-20 

Dozing in deepening night,

pulling cloaks closer

in the cold darkness,

 

suddenly,

 

the light so bright,

the sound so deafening,

shook them awake, and

a voice saying fear not.

The wise men had seen

a star and followed;

the shepherds had seen

a light, and were blinded,

had heard a voice, deafening,

and shocked to hear

of a birth.

 

The voice was joined

by a chorus of voices,

voices singling glory.

Then silence, and

darkness again.

 

They looked at each other,

faces etched in wonder,

light shining into hearts.

 

They left everything,

 

their camp, their sheep,

their possessions, and

raced to find the manger,

to find the child. 

 

To the parents, they said:

we were told,

and we found the light.

 

Illustration by Kingdom Formation Ministries.

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day - Casting Crowns (via Henry Wadswoth Longfellow)

The Story Behind the Hymn - Hymncharts

Some Thursday Readings

 

Peace Child – Andrew Wilson at Think Theology.

 

What Does Christmas Feel Like?  and Songs That Feel Like Christmas – Michael Farmer at Front Porch Republic.

 

A Leprechaun for Christmas – short story at Dancing Priest.

 

Those Who Lie in Unvisited Tombs – Brian Sudlow at The Imaginative Conservative on the genealogy of Jesus.

 

A Tennessee Christmas Remembered – Biran Miller at Notes from an East Tennessee Farmer.

 

Another Ordinary, Holy Day – Andrea at A View of the Lake.

 

Adeste Fideles – poem by Andrew Roycroft at New Grub Street.

 

On Christmas Night in the City (London) – Spitalfields Life.

 

Ghosts of Christmas Past – Bow of Odysseus.

 

An Irish Christmas Selection Box 2025 – Seth Lewis.

 

An old woman's song

After Luke 2:36-38 

I am 84, an old woman,

and I have served here

these many years, with

hope in my heart, a hope

realized this day, for

I have seen salvation,

the promise as old as

the people, the promise

made to Moses, and

I have seen it realized

this day: in front of me

is the redemption

of Jerusalem. This day,

the smallest doubt

has died, and the light

is shining.

 

Photograph by Danie Franco via Unsplash. Used with permission.

An old man's song

After Luke 2:22-32 

Now I can leave

this form of age

behind me, now

I can depart

in peace, for I

have seen what

was promised,

that I would see

before my death

the promise of

salvation,

the great consolation,

not only for the people

chosen, but for all,

salvation for all

the earth, a light

of revelation, the light

of glory.

 

Photograph by Aaron Andrew Ang via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Angels sing

After Luke 2:8-16 

A night like any other,

a job like any other,

watching over sheep

at night. Like any other,

except the night the angel

appears, a great light

shines around them,

it wasn’t normal anymore,

a night unlike any other

before or since. The angel 

speaks of good news,

messiah’s birth, and says

look for a sign, a child

in a stable. In the flash

of a moment, the angel

is joined by a multitude,

singing.

 

A night.

An angel

An announcement.

A sign.

A song.

 

Photograph by James Handley via Unsplash. Used with permission.