It’s once again the time of year
When people talk of ‘Christmas cheer’
They buy presents, scarves and socks,
Wrap up parcels – few or lots;
Folks rush around to get jobs done,
Talk of how they will have fun.
But if you look into their eyes,
And hear the moaning and the sighs,
You’ll realise that deep inside
Is an emptiness they can’t hide.
Some are lonely, some are sad,
Some think of things they one-time had
They look at tinsel, baubles, trees
With an eye that sometimes sees
The falseness of the glittering scene,
Remembering what might have been.
If only the tinsel, the bustle and hurry
The urgency, the fret and worry
Could be swept into a ball
And thrown away behind a wall;
Walled up, forgotten for a time
Whilst once again man might find
The meaning of this time of joy
When Mary had a baby boy.
A child was born, a Holy child
Who sometimes cried, who sometimes smiled;
His destiny already planned,
He lived and grew, and learned to stand.
He stood for truth and righteousness,
He gave release from strain and stress;
But as men celebrate His birth
With ‘good will’, ‘merriment’ and ‘mirth’
The tension rises, tempers fray
As time passes day by day.
Where is the peace the Christ child brings,
The goodwill of which the people sing?
Where can be found the inner joy
Brought to us by the baby boy?
Why is it eyes are turned away
From the meaning of that day?
Why does man forget to see
The love supplied to you and me?
If in that love earth’s men would live
Gifts and presents they would give
With thankfulness, not, ‘It’s my duty’,
But a willingness to share the beauty
Of the rarest gift that man has known;
Then love would flow in every home.
So stop a while, turn and look
At the steps which Jesus took;
Examine every action, thought,
Look at all the gifts you’ve bought.
Bring from the stable the love you feel;
Praise the Lord for being real.
19.12.1984
Thank you to M.E.G. of Sheffield.
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