Advent Reflection (20) – Nothing Can Ever be the Same Again

At our ‘Carols by Candlelight’ Service on Wednesday evening (16th December), I shared a poem I had written called ‘Nothing can ever be the same again.’ Here it is, in written form. So many folk have asked for a copy. I trust it blesses you. I also include a video of me reciting the poem from Wednesday evening. Feel free to use.

Nothing can ever be the same again

(C) Malcolm Duncan

He arrived unnoticed by most people

A small, wrinkled baby like any other

Cooed over by His father,

Suckled by His mother.

The pain of His arrival was the same.

The anxious wait for the beginning of His story,

Worried about by Joseph,

Longed for by His Mary.

Just another child born in Bethlehem

The Landlord thought as he heard the news

‘New parents learning the ropes’ he thought

But he didn’t see the lit fuse….

The fuse that changes everything

The fuse that made the angels sing

The fuse that made the Magi bring

Their gifts to His feet.

Because here in the filth of a stable

The Creator is held in a cradle

The One who flung stars into space

Has a squished, vernixed face.

The fuse, you see, is incarnation.

God is here for all to see

Deity with skin on for you and me

Hope with hands

Love with legs

Compassion with eyes

This is what Life looks like

And nothing can ever be the same again.

Time – split by this moment.

Promises – become old and new here.

Governments topple and fall in the light of this simple event

For this is the moment when the Son was sent.

This is the moment when the Light came on.

This is the moment when the darkness shook.

This is the moment when the flag was unfurled

This is the moment that changes the world.

This is a moment that changes you

This is a moment that changes me

Because of this moment the blind can see

In the power of this moment the captives are freed.

In the strength of this moment the poor are embraced

Because this is the moment when we see His face….

God is here

Not there, here.

Not absent, present.

Not distant, close

Not detached, connected

This is not plan ‘B’

This is plan ‘A’

This was always going to be the way

God – too far away for us to understand

Comes in to us here, just as He planned

And lets us see that He cares

That is why He is there

And that is why He is here

Standing in the shadows of the candle light

He offers us hope this December Night

Hope for today, hope for now

Hope for always

Hope for all

Hope for you