the wrong shall fail, the right prevail

“And in despair I bowed my head;

"There is no peace on earth," I said;

"For hate is strong,

And mocks the song

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:

"God is not dead, nor doth he sleep!

The Wrong shall fail,

the Right prevail,

With peace on earth, good-will to men!”

― Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

__________________________________________________

Today I am adulating

Today I am being a responsible adult

Feeding my animals

Cleaning my house

Answering my emails, most cursed things

It is not what I wanted to do when I grew up

I had visions of treks through jungles

Adventures in the far north

I would have a life of adventure

and danger

and triumph

this cowboy, sailor, doctor, fireman

this person who would grow up

significant

respected

loved

admired

hero me

instead I am writing progress notes

and emptying waste baskets

and contemplating shoveling the side walk

Today I am adventing

I want to be Christmasing

I had dreams of being in a Hollywood movie

And that I would be the star of this movie

What a delusion, that

This short haired arthritic limping gnome

Should be the star of a Hollywood movie!

And I am not

I am not immersed in Christmas

Where miracles happen

And love wins

No, I am adventing

I and walking in that dark impatient time

Where resolution is yet to come

My soul resonates with Longfellow

Who beloved wife burned to death

Beloved son wounded by war

Country divided

Bowed his head

In momentary despair

And I too cry

"There is no peace on earth,

For hate is strong,

And mocks the song

Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"

Not I am not Christmasing

I am Adventing

I am plodding toward Bethlehem in the darkness

And the cold

And yet

I do believe Christmas will come

I do believe that love will prevail

But advent reminds me, that this victory is a somber and costly one

As Bonhoeffer in the cold world of Nazi Germany

A world not that unlike our own, once said

Who among us will celebrate Christmas correctly? Whoever finally lays down all power, all honor, all reputation, all vanity, all arrogance, all individualism beside the manger; whoever remains lowly and lets God alone be high; whoever looks at the child in the manger and sees the glory of God precisely in his lowliness

If we want Christmas

We will have to show up, not in the halls of power

Not in the Capital or the White House

Posing for pictures with the mighty

But in the streets

With the homeless

At the border, with the caged

in the hospital, with the cancer riddle child

in the nursing home, with the abandoned woman or man

whose children never come

If we want Christmas

We will have to fight for it

Not with the weapons of hate

But with the weapons of love

We fight for Christmas

When we feed the poor

When we fight for housing, first

When we welcome the homeless to sleep in our pews

When we say Happy Holiday, and Happy Hanukkah

And have a blessed Kwanza

We fight for Christmas when we hug the person

Who disagrees with us passionately

Call me a fool (many do)

Call me naïve

But even while I am adventing

And stumbling my way through the dark

I believe the light will come

And with Longfellow I affirm

God is not dead, nor doth he sleep!

The Wrong shall fail,

the Right prevail,

With peace on earth, good-will to men!”