12/22/2020
From a source in another group:
Feel free to use this - it will be most of my Christmas Eve homily:
’Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the town
Not a person was stirring - We were all hunkered down.
The masks were all hung from their ear-straps with care,
In hopes that a vaccine soon would be there.
The children were nestled all snug in their rooms;
While mom and I logged out of meetings on Zoom;
We changed out of our work sweatpants, into our jammies,
Sad to be so far from grandpas and grammies.
Christmas was different this year that’s for certain
People felt lonely with hearts that were hurtin.’
Our Christmastime cheerfulness stuck in a lurch,
With no room at the inn, and no one in the church.
Travel bans thrown up between towns and nations
Part cabin fever and part isolation
Homeschool was hectic and holidays harried
My mood was more mopey and maudlin than merry
When here in my heart there arose such a clatter,
I gladly remembered the heart of the matter.
Christmas is more than the usual traditions,
Compulsively re-done in rote repetition
We miss those things, sure, but they will return
This temporary turmoil’s only short-term.
And added to that, this trouble helps others
Our quarantines help save our sisters and brothers
And caring for others, well that’s the whole deal
That’s living the deep Christmas Spirit for real
Our hope and our peace, our joy and our love
They’re as bright as the Bethlehem star up above.
And what happened next? In Alaska I’d say
The spirit of Christmas showed up anyway
It showed up in cards and gifts mailed state to state
Even if some get there just slightly late. (Sorry mom)
It came without gatherings. It came without crowds.
It came without carol groups singing out loud.
It came without parties to brighten our lives
It came without potlucks, without PS-Fives. (Sorry, Andrew)
But Christmas showed up in the calls across miles
In zooms and in texts, and instead of hugs, smiles
It showed up in generous charitable donations
And churches who now have online congregations
It showed in the love of the simple, kind task
Of caring for others by wearing a mask
In treats left at doorsteps by night and by day
And shouts of “Merry Christmas” from six feet away
And some day my friends, SOME day we’ll be back
To all of those potlucks and parties we lack
To singing in choirs and singing in bars
To cozy carpooling squished into one car
To shaking hands, high fives, fist bumps and hugs
To to airplanes with center rows packed in real snug
To going to games where we cheer in the bleachers,
To going to school with our favorite teachers
To clicking a headline that has happy news
To passing the peace side by side in these pews
To restaurants, barbershops, concerts aplenty
When finally, FINALLY, we’re through 2020
This hard time will pass, keep the faith; do not fear.
We’ll gather again my friends, same time next year
So keep Love and Peace, Hope and Joy as your light—
“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!”
