Poems about Nativity
Carol Service
We sing of light amongst the darkness.
We talk of hope despite encrouching gloom.
We hear of a long expected infant saviour.
Born in a stable because there was no room.
Through songs of long familiar melodies.
Rhymes of donkey, maiden, shepherd, king.
We recall the message of peace and goodwill.
That caused a star to shine and angels sing.
All through village houses are bedecked
With multi-coloured trees and sparkling reindeer.
Santa's in Coca-Cola coloured coats.
Indicates this is a lovely time of year.
Through relentless rain tired shoppers stagger home,
Hoping that they have got in debt enough to satisfy and fill,
The expectations of family, friends and popular demand.
To indulge enough until they're feeling ill.
And somewhere,
A young boy lies blanket wrapped upon a pavement.
And somewhere,
A widowed woman stares at an empty chair.
And somewhere,
A soldier prepares for battle.
And somewhere,
A malnourished child flicks flies away from her hair.
Yet we believe, the carols' message can make a difference
There will be light !
There will be hope !
There will be joy !
We are not wrapping fairy lights around the planet's darkness.
A glorious dawn appeared for all with this baby boy,
It's a real chance,not a fantasy we are proclaiming.
Jesus, resurrection and a salvation does give.
His birth, his sacrifice, his Spirit calls us,
The Christmas message all the year to live.
Inconvenient Child
Some said, he was a inconvenient child.
Son of an unmarried teenage girl, a child of shame,
Illegitimate,
To be delivered secretly,
Hidden away where no one knew his name.
Some said,he came at an inconvenient time,
On the road, among strangers, all unknowing.
In a dark, yet the only dry, warming, place.
Surrounded by shepherds and cattle lowing.
Some said, he was another sad statistic,
Born in poverty to those in need.
Where life is scraped from dry dusty earth,
No one needs another mouth to feed,
A refugee, fleeing in haste from a warzone,
Carried away in a state of great alarm.
Seeking asylum in a foreign land,
Protection from those who would do him harm.
Some said, he was a political threat,
That needed to be destroyed,
Before he became a pest,
Became a symbol for those who'll fight the King,
To be exterminated to avoid unrest.
Or the dreams of Mystic Eastern Seers,
Who search the palaces for a new born King.
Or visions of night-time custodians of sheep,
Who tell the town of hearing angels sing.
Some say, he is a sentimental myth,
Told to children, to make the long night bright,i
Mixed with Yuletide, to make the year end fun,
To fill the dark evenings with artificial light.
An excuse to overindulge with food,
To eat far too much chocolate, sweets and cake.
To build up debts, to give for expensive gifts,
So the shops, a profit they can make.
But we believe, he was the long expected one.
Born so lost and lonely children can know care,
That the lost and guilty people, salvation find,
That the lost and greedy world, can learn to share.
Even if, it was over two thousand years ago,
Even if, with conflict, pain and strife, the world is torn,
We can still sing of hope, joy, peace and love,
Because in that stable long ago, a child was born.
Advent Poems
Hope
Hope is not,
Wishful thinking
Positivity in the mind
Burying your head in the sand.
Keeping ourselves from the cruel and unkind.
Hope is
A childless elder looking at the stars in the desertsky and believing the promise that he will father a nation,
Hope is
A slave boy in an Egyptian prison dreaming that he will save his family , every relation,
Hope is
A nomadic people walking through the wilderness following a pillar of cloud to a promised place,.
Hope is
A baby boy crying in the night, offering a way of salvation to the human race,
Or hope is
One person believing that there is a better way to live than greed, selfishness and strife,
Another standing up for what is right even if it costs them their wealth, even their life.
A group of people welcoming an outcast into their church offering support and being their friend,
A person who is ashamed of their past, trusting that Jesus will be with them to the end.
For hope is not about what we do or how we feel.
Hope is about who God is and his promises being real.
Peace
Peace begins in the heart
It starts when we make up our mind
To put aside our hurts and grievances
And just be kind.
Others may nurture their conflicts,
But we can choose not to live that way.
We can spread compassion and understanding.
Instead of hatred, suspicion and hearsay.
Peace can bring as much suffering to us as conflict,
yet can create something beautiful and lasting.
As the prophet spoke of in that time of conflict
When spoke of the coming King.
Who came in poverty not wealth.
With healing not revenge nor greed
Forgiveness not retribution
The Prince of Peace who would seed.
A people who would be peacemakers
By following his example and have the release
To transform society,
By choosing Peace.
Joy
Joy is everlasting
Not being reliant on circumstances, feelings and coziness
Even when we are struggling Joy comes to give us comfort.
Like a candle to light up the darkness.
Whilst life is full of changes, difficulties steal our confidence.
One thing remains, God accompanies us in our situation.
Sending us a saviour, giving us his Spirit.
That we might have joy, beyond human comprehension.
On Jordan’s Bank, the Baptist proclaimed a new kingdom.
Where there is community, forgiveness, expectation
That all things will be well, for Christ has come,
And brought for us a salvation
That is greater than wealth, health and happiness.
Because we are Children of God and members of the Kingdom.
It is in our Heavenly Father’s care.
Our true Joy can come.
Love
Love stumbles painfully along the track to Bethlehem.
As her soon to be born child nears his arrival upon the earth.
A boy that is to be born out of love.
A love that will bring her gladness by his birth,
Love not only suffers as all mothers do.
From the pains of a womb that has new life growing within
But her love of God who has chosen her,
To bear this special child within.
For this. Love is willing to endure.
The pain, the shame the journey, the stable floor.
For the Joy of holding the son
Who would bring Peace and Hope once more.
Greater still is the love of the Father who
Gave his one and only Son
To beat the pain of the cross,
In love for me, you and everyone.
Let us be Love, to give to those we meet our love
Not counting the cost but showing them the touch.
That which we received when we first knew God’s love..
