Words of Reflection
Christmas Day marks the end of Advent. If your church is like ours, though, the Christmas season continues for a couple of weeks until Epiphany, giving us an excuse to continue to sing the wonderful songs of Christmas until early January.
On the radio and in retail stores, of course, things are a bit different. Tomorrow the Christmas music that has been playing non-stop since…well, October, it seems, will be gone. Christmas items in the stores will be pushed to the clearance aisle. And chances are, it won’t be long until we’re staring down boxes of chocolate and romantic gifts to get us in a Valentine’s mood. Let’s face it: Christmas ends pretty quickly.
And that’s a shame.
In 1973 the American theologian and civil rights leader Howard Thurman published a book called “The Mood of Christmas.” It is a collection of brief spiritual reflections and meditations rooted in the Christmas season but not limited to it. In this book, Thurman emphasizes that Christmas is not just a festival of lights and gifts but a mood—a profound sense of hope, compassion, celebration, and love that should permeate everyday life. Through meditations on life and Scripture, alongside beautiful poems, Thurman invites readers to recognize and cultivate this spiritual mood in ordinary moments throughout the year.
Today, as we finish this devotional, I’d like to offer you two of Thurman’s poems set to music. One is called “I Will Light Candles This Christmas,” which encourages us to carry the light of Christmas into the entire year, shining peace, faith, and hope into a word which so desperately needs it. In “The Work of Christmas,” Thurman reminds us that the the true work of Christmas is the mission of Christ, which knows no calendar or season but continues at all times in every place.
Composer Kim André Arnesen has woven both of these poems into a single choral anthem that is sublime and resonant. There are no reflection questions to pair with this piece. You are invited to simply listen and read, and let Thurman’s words guide you into prayer.
It’s our hope that this devotional has blessed you this Christmas season. Now as we finish, it’s our prayer that the blessings which God has bestowed on us during this Advent journey will give birth to something beautiful and real that we can carry into the world each and every day. As one writer once put it:
“At Christmas, the grace of God appears.
The rest of the year is learning how to live in its light.”
Merry Christmas and may Christ’s peace go with you into this New Year.
Scripture for Meditation:
“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly, while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ.”—Titus 2:11-14 (NRSV)
Song: I Will Light Candles This Christmas (lyrics below)
I will light Candles this Christmas;
Candles of joy despite all 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.
When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flock,
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 others,
To make music in the heart.
—Howard Thurman, from his book “The Mood of Christmas and Other Celebrations”