Christmas All Over Again

I waited for God on the palace steps,
a logical place for God to appear,
but the sunlight faded and the night grew cold
and the presence of God was never here.

So I went to the Temple, with certainty
that in these sacred granite halls,
God would appear and I would be
embraced by a love that extends to all.

In courts of law, in fields of tall grain,
in places where people suffer with pain,
among the stalls of the marketplace,
I’ve longed for a glimpse of incarnate grace.

And then one day, as I sat in despair
in a lovely park in the fresh autumn air,
a woman with an infant, not far away,
called out to me and I heard her say:

Forgive me, sir, you appear so sad.
May I show you something that makes me glad?
As she approached, she revealed the face
of the infant child whom she embraced.

And as I looked with wonder and awe,
in that glorious moment I clearly saw
the One whom I sought among princes and kings,
the radiant child for whom angels sing.

Perched high on a branch of an ancient tree,
a Mockingbird sang to the child and to me,
announcing that God is among us still,
that Love and Grace, God’s perfect will,

has entered the bounds of humanity
but only discerned by eyes that can see
the gift contained in the infant’s smile,
hope that resides in this little child.

The gloom in my life disappeared that day
all because He passed my way,
saw my sadness and stopped to say:
take heart, my friend, love has no end.
Fear and grief cannot contend
with the joy that awaits all who see
the promise of glory that lives in me.