Below is this year’s poem for the Holidays. It reflects what we hear in scripture, when, through the prophets God declares to be the God of all peoples and cultures. It also reflects the spirituality and theology of the great Trappist monk, Thomas Merton, who saw the presence of God in all world religions. The Golden Rule of Jesus, “Do unto others and you would have them do unto you,” is something expressed in similar ways in all world religions.
GOD OF THE WINTER SOLSTICE
O God of the Winter Solstice
come to us!
As the darkness of the year
falls over all Creation,
it falls especially so in we,
who you have created.
O God of the Universe,
we call you by many names,
and depict you in as many images
as there are people and cultures.
You are the Heavenly Parent
of every culture, of every nation,
of every religion.
How hard it is for us to see,
as we vie and fight over being
your most beloved,
unable to see that none
are favored over another,
for all are equally your favorite.
O God of many lights,
we recall your light
in our many rituals,
the light in which
you first touched our lives.
The lit candles on the Menorah,
and candles lit on Advent wreaths,
the multi-lit Yule trees in our homes
only remind us how starved
we are of your light.
The deep darkness of our ignorance
compels us to beg you
to cast your light into the
depths of our blackened hearts.
May we see your light
in the refugees we imprison,
in the immigrant babies and children
we separate from their parents;
in the people
whom we crush and slaughter
in our arrogant quest to be deified.
May our festivals festooned
with lights enable us
to see your light shine
in every culture,
every nation and religion.
May your light illumine our minds
To see that you fully embrace
every culture, nation, and religion
as your chosen ones
to love and cherish!
And as we bask in your unifying light,
O God of the Universe,
May your unified light in our hearts,
Be a living Sun,
beaming its brilliant light,
to the far reaches of the galaxy!
