When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and the 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 brothers,
To make music in the heart.
-Howard Thurman
Participate in the work of Christmas today, whatever your spiritual or religious background.
In the ancient story celebrated by our Christian beloved, today is the last day of Mary’s pregnancy. In her womb, the baby Jesus was gestating. Gestation and birth are thought of as science now, but aren’t they also some kind of magic? The formation of an entire being from two simple cells? And you, too, are magic, having been formed in this way.
Revel in the magic that is our being today.
Who is to argue that the spiritual is not magical and could even be examined, measured, and understood by using some sort of device or mathematical concept? Bacteria, cells, and atoms were completely unknown to us 2000 years ago. Instead, any illness was attributed to magic of a force from the gods. Why should the spirit or any magical force not be subject to such open minded scrutiny? -Liam Heimm (a CLF member incarcerated in SC)
Tell us about a time something mysterious or magical to you wound up having an explanation.
“We light this chalice, here in the darkness of winter as we wait.
This temporary space is one filled with prayers to be answered,
love to be given and received, miracles to be witnessed.
May this light guide us until the light of the sun returns again.” -JeKaren Olaoya
Light a candle and fill the darkness with prayers.
“Now is the moment of magic,
when the whole, round earth turns again toward the sun,
and here’s a blessing:
the days will be longer and brighter now,
even before the winter settles in to chill us.” -Victoria Safford, from The Moment of Magic
What are the blessings of the solstice for you?
