By Mother Rebecca

Merry Christmas!

I hope you are, as I am, still basking in the light of the Christ child following our marvelous Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services. These twelve days of Christmas are among the most sacred and luminous days of the year. In this season, I invite you to pause each day to dwell on the central mystery of our faith: "The Word became flesh and lived among us" (Jn 1:14).

One of the most profound ways to enter into this mystery is through the words of those who have contemplated it through the ages. This week, I offer a collection of my favorite Christmas poems, prayers, and reflections – gifts of insight and wonder I hope you will savor as deeply as I do.

First, some thoughts on the Incarnation from St. Augustine of Hippo.

God so loved us that for our sakes God
through whom time was made, was made in time;
Older by eternity than the world itself,
God became younger in age than many of God's servants in the world;
God, who made humans, was made human;
God was given existence by a mother whom God had brought into existence;
… was carried in hands which God formed;
… was nursed at breasts which God filled."
God cried like a baby in the manger in speechless infancy –
this Word without which human eloquence is speechless.[1]

Augustine's words remind us that the Incarnation is both cosmic and tender: God enters our world fully, humbly, vulnerably – transforming the infinite into the intimate.

 
Second, an excerpt from a sermon on the Prologue of John's Gospel from the great 20^th century theologian, Karl Barth.

The light shines. We may hear this as a message of joy, good news, gospel for us and the whole world. We may proclaim it courageously and defiantly against all the darkness of our time; against the darkness in our own hearts, in our communit[ies], in our hospitals … and prisons; against the darkness in our conversations with one another and in the newspapers … we read; against all the darkness that darkens so many sickbeds and the beds of the dying; and against the pernicious darkness of our social conditions. Without hesitation we may proclaim against all darkness: the light shines. It remains true to itself; it remains what it is even in the deepest darkness, and that is why it shines. Because it is true, … there is no reason to doubt and despair, to give up, to think only somber and hopeless thoughts about ourselves, our communit[ies], and today's world. … The light shines.^[2]

Barth calls us to proclaim the light of Christ boldly, most especially in the darkest corners of our lives and world. The light shines – true, steadfast, unyielding, and hope-filled.

Third, a poem from theologian, author, and spiritual architect of the civil rights movement of the 1960s, Howard Thurman.

I will light Candles this Christmas,
Candles of joy despite all the sadness,
Candles of hope where despair keeps watch,
Candles of courage for fears ever present,
Candles of peace for tempest-tossed days,
Candles of grace to ease heavy burdens,
Candles of love to inspire all my living,
Candles that will burn all year long.[3]

Thurman invites us to participate in the Incarnation by lighting candles of joy, hope, courage, peace, grace, and love in our hearts and homes. I wonder what candles you will light this Christmastide.

Fourth, a prayer from abbot, mystic, and Doctor of the Church, Bernard of Clairvaux.

Let your goodness, Lord, appear to us, that we,

made in your image, may conform ourselves to it.
In our own strength

we cannot imitate your majesty, power, and wonder,
nor is it fitting for us to try.
But your mercy reaches from the heavens
through the clouds to the earth below.
You have come to us as a small child,
but you have brought us the greatest of all gifts,
the gift of eternal love.

Caress us with your tiny hands,

embrace us with your tiny arms,

and pierce our hearts with your soft, sweet cries.[4]

Bernard reminds us that we were created in the image of God and invites us to behold ourselves as we gaze upon the Christ-child. Holding my baby's tiny hands, enveloping their tiny arms in my own, and attending to their soft, sweet cries – these were joyful moments! Bernard brings all of that into my reflections this Christmas.

Finally, in keeping with our focus on the prophets this Advent, let the words of Habakkuk guide you into stillness:

The Lord is in his holy temple;
let all the earth keep silence before him!

In this Christmastide, I pray that you would be struck with awe and wonder, wrapped in God's arms of love, and empowered to share that love with all you meet. Merry Christmas, friends. See you this weekend.

Mtr. Rebecca

=================

[1] Augustine of Hippo, excerpts from a Christmas "Sermon 191."

[2] Karl Barth, "John 1:1-5, A Sermon for the Third Sunday of Advent", December 22, 1918, accessed online on December 24, 2025 at https://theologyforum.wordpress.com/2012/12/11/a-sermon-for-the-third-sunday-of-advent-karl-barth/.

[3] Howard Thurman, "I Will Light Candles", from The Mood of Christmas and Other Celebrations.

[4] Bernard of Clairvaux, "Nativity Prayer", published in Essential Christmas Prayers (Paraclete Press).