« November 2012 | Main | January 2013 »
Christmas ran fast this year.
We saw her coming,
quickly shaved, showered and dressed,
stood by the dusty roadside and waited,
expecting to cheer and hoot and holler--
and zip--
she was there and gone.
We returned home
and climbed back into our sweats,
grabbed a six-pack,
flipped on the widescreen,
and settled in for the long winter's night.
Maybe next year
she'll stop by for a longer visit.
That would be nice, yes?
Text and image © 2012 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.
The Christmas bells? They slowly dim.
We find less need to think of him.
Our dancing slows to weary shuffles,
and merry bells our shuffling muffles.
"Ding! Sing!" try the bells once more,
but we are dressed and out the door.
Text and image © 2012 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.
Merry Christmas to you, my tiny new one.
Did you know that God also got him a son?
His name is Jesus, who humbly was born
a long time ago on a bright winter morn
in a land far away in a town near the sea,
where the pigeons cooed low and the sheep roamed free.
He came to release us from sadness and woe,
or so goes the story from long, long ago.
Merry Christmas to you, my tiny new son.
You remind me so much of that dear Holy One.
Text and image © 2012 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.
Detial of The Holy Family, anonymous.
Longing speaks of God,
leans into the Divine,
lurches heavenward.
Let yearning yield to the Holy.
Text and image © 2012 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.
Nine years ago this day,
mother willed herself away.
Grief blinded us to this gift,
which she had so carefully wrapped
and presented, privately, to herself.
Guilt blinded us to this tender exchange
as spirit said to soul,
"Here, for you...that best of gifts,
the one you added to the list
many years ago.
Finally, we can afford it."
She knew the contents of that box,
at once weightless
and heavy with eternity.
Slowly, deliberately,
she removed the ribbon and paper,
restraining her eagerness,
willing stillness into trembling hands.
One full day it took,
but, finally, as she lifted the lid,
she lifted from the bed
with a sigh
and eyes shining with vision
far beyond our own.
Text and image © 2012 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.
"Christ did not come into the world for gold."
--Bartalome de Las Casas (1484-1566)
Christ has not come for power.
Christ has not come for gold.
Christ has not come for fame.
Christ has not come to shame or scold.
Christ has not come to dig for oil,
nor stake his claim on holy soil.
Christ has not come for war or greed,
nor to satisfy some vengeful need.
Christ comes, it seems, to serve.
Christ comes for pure compassion's sake,
to hold, to welcome, and to heal,
to mend the hearts that others break.
Christ comes to bear embodied love,
to bring below what flows above,
to bring above what lives below--
and utter emptiness to show.
Text and image © 2012 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.
Today is Christmas. Today we honor a child born ages ago, a child of most meager means.
This child shall be a new kind of king--an unheard-of and completely misunderstood king.
Don't miss the irony in this: This king cannot survive without Mary's milk; this king arrives with no family welcome; this king comes poor, weak, homeless, hungry and in exile.
This king seems much like me, much like so many in the world--weary, voiceless, wandering.
And to add to the bizarreness, this crying, pooping, burbling infant is heralded by terrifying angelic beings, then surrounded by smelly, wonder-filled shepherds, and finally gifted by odd, star-seeking outsiders (no doubt undocumented). Nobody could make this stuff up.
So the question is, where are you in this most unlikely of stories?
Text and image © 2012 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.
At Christmastime
we strive to find
some cause for hope,
some peace of mind.
Is it in the gifts
or carols old,
or in the snow
and biting cold?
Do we find it in
our Christmas trees
or unrestricted
spending sprees?
Is it there in cocoa
and candy canes,
in children's play
and frosted panes?
Is it in the cards
of peaceful scenes,
or mistletoe,
or lighted greens?
Some say it lives
within the babe
that to the world
the heavens gave.
I do believe
the place to start
is looking deep
within your heart.
However peace
and joy arrive,
it is through you
they die or thrive.
So make the choice
this Christmas Eve,
to wonder, hope,
rejoice, believe.
Text and image © 2012 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.
Like rich, dark chocolate
on a golden graham cracker,
your love enrobes me.
Text and image © 2012 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.
Most of us have all we need;
on this I'm guessing we agree.
So why the harried rush to spend
as if on this our peace depends?
For that which causes hearts to lift
is more the giver, not the gift.
Be still with me while carols play,
and thus complete my Christmas Day.
Let's leave the stuff on Macy's shelves
and give the best of gifts--ourselves.
Text and image © 2012 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.
Recent Comments