Christmas is No Different

Christmas Is No Different

I learned tonight
that Christmas is no different
Perhaps people act nicer;
perhaps.
And yet a teenager is murdered outside his home
somewhere else
a family is broken
somewhere else
bitterness consumes a heart
somewhere else
a cancer patient fights the disease
somewhere else
an addict does not lose the craving
somewhere else
a toddler is still hungry
everywhere else
desperate prayers are repeated
Christmas day is no different

The world does not stop for Christmas
half the world may not even celebrate today
there is no magical clause that says
today we will live in peace
today there will be no cease fire
today bullets will be replaced with snowballs
the day does not become merry or bright
just because the Christmas is white
and snow, if it chooses to fall,
does not erase the tracks of tears
Christmas day is no different

I walked down the street
lined with the light-filled trees
a 2 year old and his father played by the station
that’s what Christmas is
supposed to be
I believed that good tidings and comfort and joy
were held by everyone
just for the day
if only for the day
we sing joy to the world
so the world must be joyful
who are we asking to rest
if the men are not merry or gentle?
I lit the candles for silent night
but that bullet split the silence the night before
and one candle will nevermore be lit
there was no peace on earth
someone did not believe in good will toward men
Christmas day was no different

then
in the pew
with my father beside me
I realized
that while the day itself holds no magic
holding no guarantee of peace
today, we remember the promise
the promise of the past for the future
what we were singing about
what we were learning about
that Jesus was born
the child of the Promise
the God incarnate
the Wonderful Counselor
the Mighty God
the Everlasting Father
the Prince of Peace
and the government will be on his shoulders
it is Christ who promises peace on earth
the wiping away of tears
good will towards men
comfort and joy
it is the King who promises these things
it is not the day
Christmas day is no different

The day is just a day
it may not have even happened today
but we choose today
to take the time to remember
to rejoice
rejoice
that Emmanuel
God with us
will one day return and ransom us
from the gunshots
from the brokeness
from all the days that will be no different
until He comes

The world may not be put on hold for Christmas
but Christ does hold the world
and one day
there will be a silent night

- in memory of Kevin, shot to death outside his home 12-23-2006