O Christmas Tree

Isaiah 11:1-3 – A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him — the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord — and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears. (NIV)

What does this Season mean to you?
Is it buying a live tree all green and trim;
but perhaps a bit thin,
or is your tree all silver and tinsel
flocked white or artificial?
Did you buy it at Eatons, Zellers, or Sears?
Or did you hitch up old Bessie, or maybe the John Deere
riding out through the snow in wagon or sleigh
across frosted fields on a cold winter's day?
Into glistening crystalline bush
with children or grandchildren all in a rush
searching for that symmetrical spruce or perfect pine,
did you cut it with chain saw, and tie it with twine,
or unearth it with shovel, wrapping roots in a ball?
Did you bring it for Grandma, children and all
to decorate with tinsel, garland, and more
bought at the mall or the local toy store?
Is this Christmas to you?
Or does Christmas mean the manger lowly and bare
beneath that green tree with shepherds worshipping there?
Do you gaze with heartfelt wonder in prayer
at a Saviour who chose such a lowly birth
to show us what has true worth,
to tell us he loves us, who wants us to share
that love with others when we rise from our prayer.

Prayer: Child of Bethlehem, may we rise from our prayers to live according to the example you have set down for us. May we love one another as we have been loved. Amen.

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