Dear Lakeside,
Three poems I have read in the past few weeks have struck me and stuck with me this past Christmas season. Three poems that have moved me and challenged me. As we look forward to this coming year and our workloads, which seem to continue to increase despite our best efforts, may we consider purpose. In consideration of living our lives with purpose and on purpose, I invite you to these poems. One of them I shared in December; another I'll add here.
From December: The Work of Christmas by Howard Thurman
When the song of the angels is stilled,
When the star in the sky is gone,
When the kings and princes are home,
When the shepherds are back with their flock,
The work of Christmas begins:
To find the lost,
To heal the broken,
To feed the hungry,
To release the prisoner,
To rebuild the nations,
To bring peace among others,
To make music in the heart.
The second one is by an Unknown Author:
If, as Herod, we fill our lives with things, and again with things…
If we consider ourselves so unimportant that we must fill every moment of our lives with action,
when will we have the time to make the long, slow journey across the desert as did the Magi?
Or sit and watch the stars as did the shepherds?
Or brood over the coming of the child as did Mary?
For each of us, there is a desert to travel. A star to discover.
And a being within ourselves to bring to life.
The third one, you can hear in church this week.
How will you live with purpose in the year to come? Can you not fill your life with mere activity but with the things of God out of the assurance of His love for you? How will you live out the work of Christmas? Not the wrapping of presents and the well wishes and cards. The work of our Lord, who in Luke 4 announces his mission as a fulfilment of the prophet Isaiah:
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
I'm praying for Lakeside to continue to be light in the world. To be conveyors of good news, advocates of peace, and active in the recovery and liberation of our neighbors.
Grace and peace,
David Johnson
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