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Sunday
Pastor Sue Schmidt alerted me to this comforting Epiphany poem by Madeleine L’Engle. I would say that it seems particularly timely this year only, given the way the world works, there’s always “war & tumult of war” going on somewhere. Also “fear & lust for power, license & greed and blight.” In other words, all things are always falling apart, making the poem timeless.
Christ is born, L’Engle reminds us, everywhere and every year. His stable is always our heart.
Into the Darkest Hour
By Madeleine L’Engle
It was a time like this,
War & tumult of war,
a horror in the air.
Hungry yawned the abyss –
and yet there came the star
and the child most wonderfully there.
It was a time like this
of fear & lust for power,
license & greed and blight –
and yet the Prince of bliss
came into the darkest hour
in quiet & silent light.
And in a time like this
How celebrate his birth
When all things fall apart?
Ah! Wonderful it is
with no room on the earth
the stable is our heart.