The Work of Christmas

For this morning's Ephiphany service, we sang a setting of this poem by Howard Thurman. I did not know this poem, or this setting, until we practiced it a few weeks ago -- but the first time we sang it, I cried. It is beautiful, moving, and pointed. May we spend 2015 doing the work of Christmas.

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 brothers,
To make music from the heart.

https://beckenhorstpress.com/content/mp3/Fall14/11%20The%20Work%20of%20Christmas.mp3

(setting by Dan Forrest, available through Beckenhorst)