Monday, December 27

When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure-chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
—Matthew 2:10-11

I have seen these woods in evening
with their naked branches
flush against the winter sky.
And I have seen the way
the river laps across
the burnished edges of the afternoon.
This is the season for magi,
moving silently by night;
the season of signs,
and discernment of signs;
a time of innuendo
and a certain clarity of air.
It is a lean time,
and a time to learn
the poverty of prayer.
Inside this circle of human need,
I am no wise man,
come to offer riches to a king,
but am a beggar,
bearing nothing more than my desire.
I will bring no gift except
a heart that knows that it is poor,
and I will leave no gift before you
but the gift that you require:
this, a heart that must adore you.

O God, help me to remember that your greatest longing is to be embraced by the world you have made, that you crave nothing more than your Word of love returned to you in human speech.

These Signposts originally appeared on explorefaith in 2004.