Light Bedazzled

Light bedazzled
they staggered down the hillside,
the music of heaven resounding in their ears,

hardly believing
what they had witnessed that they, mere shepherds,
had been party to, an earth-shattering moment,

a revelation
of the intent of the Most High,
a message to mortals,
the beginning of a new era,
a Most Holy Birth.

Down the rocky path they stumbled,
glances backwards revealed stillness,
darkness now.

Had it ever really happened?
Had they imagined it all after all?

But in the village that lay ahead,
a single star exploded, lightness, brightness,
over a humble dwelling place, the place,

the place where the Most High
had chosen to make
his dwelling place with men.

They fell in through the doorway
onto their knees,
onto their knees before the newly incarnate High King of Heaven.

And in the stillness
of that holy moment,
they could just about hear an echo of heaven

Dear Lord Jesus,

You are the light of the world. We ask that You fill our hearts with love and compassion for all those who are struggling, whatever the situation.

In this season of Christmas help us not to be overwhelmed by all that’s going on, but to be aware of others and be willing to walk alongside them.

Just as Your light dazzled those shepherds of old, help us to shine with Your love.