16 December 2022 A Candle in the Window Peter Millar
Words to encourage us in these times.
The Living Hope of Christmas
But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for see – I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the messiah, the Lord...’
Luke 2: 10-11
The Bells of Christmas
The Bells of Christmas -
sounding again across the globe
in all of its fragility,
telling their tale, amidst our confusions.
But who now trusts their news
midst war and pestilence?
How do they sound
within these narratives of hate
which pierce so many lives?
How can we speak of peace
beneath the missiles,
or of justice when
millions go hungry?
Where are we
as forests burn and floods destroy
and bird-song ceases?
Yet only in sharing the pain,
can new birth occur,
all of us changed by these flames
and hurt by their heat.
Not distant, but present,
accepting the truth
embedded in these ancient bells,
that we belong together
as bearers of hope.
For the Bells of Christmas,
are transforming Bells of Life and Light
rooted in our world,
in tandem with its tears and search for healing.
Peter Millar Edinburgh, Christmas 2022