I will sing of your steadfast love, O LORD, forever; with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations. I declare that your steadfast love is established forever; your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens. (Psalm 89: 1-2)
The steadfast love of God was proclaimed to all the world that night in a cave in Bethlehem. This proclamation, sung by an angel throng, shouted by shepherds to anyone who would listen, and whispered by a young mother into the ear of her beloved newborn child, reverberates 2,000 years later in the lighting of the fourth candle of advent.
This fourth candle shines among the other three -- hope, peace and joy -- adding to their light the ultimate meaning of advent: stay awake, be prepared, "for God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)
This love is the basis of our hope, it is what brings ultimate peace to our lives, it is something so wonder-filled that when we really believe it, we feel we might burst with joy.
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Starlight
In the starlight
a baby murmurs
a mother whispers
a father sighs
Drawn by the starlight
shepherds gather
wise ones ponder
angels delight
Soon comes the dawn-light
the gift has been given
a new light shines bright
may your life shine with this light
(First appeared in The Poet - Christmas Issue, 2020)