bobjots : redux

The Whisper of Divinity

A chaotic place: under the ardent lamps,
the buzz of commerce consumes the night
where congested crowds can see
only ahead and never beyond.

This night defines many nights -
from the moon’s conception to the offspring of stars,
from the fall of creation to today
that will last only ’til the sun tumbles and
these tastes saturate the dark again.

On this particular night the chaos considered a cure.
A tired man grips the hand of his pregnant wife and
they wearily weave through the faces
that enliven the inn to find its keeper.
Their odds favor staying elsewhere,
but they have no other place.
They are left vulnerable.

The man hopes for a vacancy,
grace granted to his wife now nine months along.
He knows the time breathes close.
With another contraction her womb tightens and
she tightly squeezes his hand.
The keeper realizes his dilemma
as they approach.

His speech stumbles;
scratching his head, he knows no room resides.
“I’m sorry,” he begins and abruptly diverts,
“but wait,” he proceeds, pointing to the cave where the animals rest.
The man, with great thanks,
gently walks his wife to the humble cave where,
the cooing of their baby would cure the chaos outside.

As a hole in heaven’s floor,
God looks through the moon and
directs angels in a chorus,
joining all creation in married mirth.
The Savior has come;
God unwrapped;
the night has turned to day.

We pass through similar nights and
never notice the wandering couple
that needs a place to rest.
Our comfortable noise rarely hears
the whisper of divinity in the
naked, the hungry, the imprisoned, the thirsty.
May our hands, heads, and hearts change.

- Zach Kincaid

A very blessed Christmas to all from the Kee family. May the coming year fill our lives and hearts with hope, joy, and peace. I share a prayer said for all tonight:

God of incarnation,
your angel host announces
that peace has been born among us,
embodied in fragile flesh.
With confidence in the power of that miracle,
we bring before you our prayers for the church and the world.

By your grace, transform our prayers from words to deeds,
that we may live as a holy people
in the dawn of your peace,
redeemed from all that divides us.

Teach us the peace that comes from justice.
Fill us with the kind of joy that cannot be contained, but must be shared.
Magnify your love within us.
Prepare our hearts to be transformed by you,
That we may walk in the light of Christ. Amen

And leave you with a blessing as you depart from this blog post:

Depart in peace, and take with you the certain knowledge
That God is always coming into the world.
We will seek God, not in a long ago stable or ancient manger,
But in the people we meet and the depths of our own hearts.
May the blessing of Christmas make you a blessing to others;
May the peace of the season pervade all that you do.
We will welcome the challenge of discipleship.
We will offer ourselves as God’s ministers.
We will go forth in hope, peace, joy, and love.