The end of the holiday season and the start of the new year are always a time to prepare for new beginnings. The terror and turmoil that began in the first few hours of this year fueled even more uncertainty about the path ahead right now. But once again, one of the lessons of the holy season of light at the darkest time of the year is that this is the time when change begins.
I share the words of beloved theologian Howard Thurman, who speaks to this moment in “The Work of Christmas”:
When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flocks,
The work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among the people,
To make music in the heart.
I also share again an adapted version of Madeleine L’Engle’s poem “First Coming” (used by permission in my book “Guide My Feet” as published in “Imagining the Word”) that speaks to this moment and our world:
God did not wait till the world was ready,
till . . . nations were at peace.
God came when the Heavens were unsteady,
and prisoners cried out for release.
God did not wait for the perfect time.
God came when the need was deep and great.
God dined with sinners in all their grime,
turned water into wine.
God did not wait till hearts were pure.
In joy God came to a tarnished world of sin and doubt.
To a world like ours, of anguished shame
God came, and God’s Light would not go out.
God came to a world which did not mesh,
to heal its tangles, shield its scorn.
In the mystery of the Word made Flesh
the Maker of the stars was born.
We cannot wait till the world is sane
to raise our songs with joyful voice,
for to share our grief, to touch our pain,
God came with Love: Rejoice! Rejoice!
I end with a final prayer.
Dear God, thank You for the gift of a new year to serve You
help me to talk right
help me to walk right
help me to see right
help me to feel right
help me to do right
in Your sight.
Edelman is founder and president emerita of the Children’s Defense Fund.
