ON CHRISTMAS DAY

In the pain-filled places

of Sudan and Syria:

beneath the penthouses of  Manhattan:

by the paddy fields of South India:

through down-town San Paulo,

and on our streets

there are lights of hope

often dimmed,

yet still burning.

They are

the lights of Christmas

in a world

both linked and disconnected,

inviting us home

to that place

where Love shines bright

and where, amazingly,

our broken lives

are again made whole.

                      Peter Millar, Edinburgh, Scotland, Christmas Day 2013.
 
                                 (please feel free to share this  reflection)

THE BELLS OF CHRISTMAS

Even for the faithful

the Christmas bells are

sometimes hard to hear

for we move faster

than the Shepherds

and quickly overtake

the Wise Men

as they seek the Light.

Married to our shopping

and mobiles,

it’s hard to pause

and hear these gentle bells

announcing Love

within our hearts

and not on Twitter.

Yet still they ring,

and when we pause

they tell us something

beautiful and true -

that we are made for God

and connected

to what is always REAL.

Peter Millar, Edinburgh, Scotland  -  December 2013.

(Please feel free to share this reflection.)