Image by Rae Whitlock via FlickrThis is another poem about the LOVE of Christ coming down at Christmas.   This one is called "From Heaven's Porch" and is written by John Thornburg.  



FROM HEAVEN'S PORCH


Infants don’t pretend.
They want to recreate
the warmth and comfort of the womb.
They cry to say, “I’m really cold.”
They coo to say, “Thank God I’m warm,”
or words to that effect.

When all grown up,
we put on a veneer
to hide the fear
that we cannot be loved as-is;
to cover up the righteousness
that we pretend to feel
when ‘someone’ doesn’t do
the things that make for peace.
Our words too often hide the truth.
We say, “I’ll do it,” then we don’t.
We say, “I love you,” then we won’t
confirm our love in what we do.
Pretending is a practiced art;
and practice makes imperfect.

There was a baby once
whose birth was trumpeted
from heaven’s porch.
But unlike us,
When he grew up
he did not hide the truth.
He loved us as we are,
and called us to abundant life.
In what he spoke,
in who he touched,
in what where he walked,
in how he bled,
he showed us why a star
had pointed out the place and time
that truth came down
and donned our uniform.

No wonder angles sang of him.
And they still sing…


I love the following line:  Our words too often hide the truth.  We say, “I’ll do it,” then we don’t.
We say, “I love you,” then we won’t confirm our love in what we do.  Pretending is a practiced art;
and practice makes imperfect.  How do I "pretend" to love others during this Advent/Christmas season?  I spend so much time talking about love but how do I actually show that love to others by what I DO and not only but what I SAY?  At Christmas, LOVE gets a lot of lip service.

I found this over at Bishop Robert Schnase's site, FivePractices.org.

You can see more from from John Thornburg at his site, www.congregationalsinging.com.