Thursday, December 23, 2021

Dare we allow it in? (John Shea)


It happens when we least expect it. 
 
When we wake in the night 
with the worries of the day. 
          When we mask a child 
too young to have her face unseen. 
When we ache to see people 
but fear to invite them. 
When we touch a forehead 
and hope it is not hot. 
Sometimes comfort comes, 
          arriving as grace 
          into exhaustion. 
It must be a mistake, 
nothing has changed. 
 
Dare we allow it in? 
 
Are the angels of Bethlehem 
still wandering the world, 
          trumpets uplifted,
visiting us with Christmas news? 
 
There is One among you 
          who brings peace.

--John Shea,
poet & theologian, 2020


Image source 1: https://mountcarmelmv.org/pb/wp_0d658da9/wp_0d658da9.html
Image source 2: https://www.thebrookchi.com/blog/post/whos-harold-no-hark-the-herald-angels-sing 

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