Fear not

After Luke 2:10-14 

The presence is blinding,

a great light, not

the greatest light

but a lesser light, still

blinding in radiance,

proclaiming the light

of the good news,

the best news, this day

is born a Savior.

A sign is given,

a map, a guide:

a baby swaddled,

a baby lying in a manger.

The light, suddenly,

Joined by voices,

a host of heaven,

praising and proclaiming,

“Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace, good will

towards men with whom

he is pleased.”

The light vanishes, and

the shepherds tell themselves,

“Let us go to Bethlehem.”

 

Photograph by Casey Horner via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Some Friday Readings

 

What Does It Mean to be Made in God’s Image? – Ryan McGraw at Ligonier.

 

“That Holy Thing,” poem by George MacDonald – D.S. Martin at Kingdom Poets.

 

The Forgotten Value of Sacrifice – Marty Machowski at New Growth Press.

 

The Feast of St. Stephen – Elizabeth Sudlow at The Imaginative Conservative.

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.

 

Advent: First to Know

Not to kings

not to rulers

not to wealth

not to merchants

not to priests

not to soldiers

not to fame

or celebrity

not to power

but to those

on the edge, those

unclean, those

who were outcast,

those, who knew

the need for

forgiveness.

Painting: Adoration of the Shepherds, by Rembrandt or pupil of Rembrandt (1646). National Gallery of Art, London. For a discussion of who the artist may have been, see the National Gallery’s article on the painting.