by Rev. Deb Worley
“I Will Light Candles This Christmas”
By Howard Thurman
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 the year long.
At this time of year, we talk of Santa’s checklist:
Naughty or nice?
But this poem generates a different checklist in my mind, a 2020 [and 2021!] checklist:
Sadness? Check.
Despair? Check.
Fears ever present? Check.
Tempest-tossed days and heavy burdens?
Check and, sadly, check.
What a [couple of] years this has been….A year of struggle, a year of chaos, a year of darkness.
In the midst of all of this darkness, the world needs light more than ever. The world needs your light, and my light; the world needs our light. When my light is flickering, perhaps yours can make mine stronger [as it most certainly has!]; when your light grows weak, maybe the light of another can give yours new life. Our world needs light that is shared, so that the light might be multiplied…
Our world needs us to light Thurman’s candles this Christmas, so that we might step into this season and beyond with yet another checklist:
Joy? Check!
Hope? Check!
Courage? Check!
Peace and grace and love?
Check, check, and yes, check!
In this season of darkness, we need light. We need the Light that shines in the darkness and was not overcome. We need the Light of Christ. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel!
Peace be with us all in this holy season.
Deb