Some people like to see it all taken down and put away. I like to linger in the season. It’s always a bit sad for me to see Christmas put away as if it’s a thing.
This week at the grocery store I stocked up on Stollen–enough to fill one of the 3 bins in our little freezer. That should get me through much of the coming year.
The little tree in our apartment is still up and the star in the window still shines. I’m not quite ready to say good bye.
When the song of the angels is heard no more,
When the Bethlehem star has gone from the sky,
When the kings and the wise men have returned to their homes,
When the shepherds are back in the fields with their flocks,
Then the real work of Christmas begins:
To spread the Christian message,
To lift up the unbelieving,
To make whole the broken hearted,
To break the bonds of sin,
To purify the national purpose,
To exalt the destiny of all mankind,
And to set our eyes on those eternal goals
That the son of God established in his day.
Years ago I found and loved this adaptation of a poem by a philosopher and theologian named Dr. Howard Thurman called “The Work of Christmas.” In 1944 he helped found the first racially integrated, multi-cultural church in the United States.
Another similar version of this poem is found in Sterling W. Sill’s 7 January 1975 BYU Devotional.
I post this particular version because I like it the best.
Our Frankfurt Germany Mission 