My Father, I miss
the gladness which many of your other children are enjoying today.
They have their homes and friends and happy fellowships,
while I am alone. Yet may I have a joyous Christmas even without these bright
things. Let me not envy those who have the blessings which I do not
have. Save me from all bitter feeling, all complaining, all homesickness, and
all unhappiness because of my circumstances. Help me to remember the loneliness
of Jesus, who was born in poverty and found no welcome in this world, and to be
as contented in my condition, as he was in his.
I pray for others
who are lonely like myself, away from their homes; for the very poor to
whom the day will bring but little gladness; for the children whose dream of
Christmas has been disappointed; for the sick, the sorrowing, and the
weary. In the great wave of good feeling which spreads everywhere today, may
some touch of human kindness reach everyone of these heart-hungry
ones.
Grant me the
privilege of carrying a little Christmas gladness to some who but for
me, would go unblessed. Lead me to one, at least, to whom a kindly word will be
a blessing. Let me give cheer to one who is discouraged. Give me the privilege
of making real to someone, the sweetness and warmth of the love of Christ.
So I pray, my
Father, that this wondrous day may not pass without leaving something of its
glad, loving spirit in my heart—and something of its quickening in my life. May
I get a new vision of your divine love. May I be cleansed of the sin which has
left its sad blots, on all my old year's pages. May I from today live more
beautifully, less selfishly, less willfully, more helpfully—than ever before.
May I find comfort hereafter for my loneliness, in closer companionship with Christ
and in a life of love and service. Grant these blessings, I
beseech you, in his precious name. Amen.
 |
| Happy Holidays! |
"Good-will toward men." Good-will means kindness, sympathy, love. It means that we shall have no bitter feeling toward anyone, no unkind thought, no dislike. This man who jostled against me today—is my bother. Perhaps it was as much my fault—as his. I may have put myself obstinately in his way. Most likely at least he did it unintentionally. Let me then forgive him—or even ask his pardon for being in the way when he stumbled.
We may read the
Gospels to see how Jesus showed good-will to men, for he gave us the pattern for
every beautiful thing he would have us do. A frown never came upon his
face—when someone had been rude or unkind to him. Nothing ever caused him to
show annoyance, however many things you were to disturb and vex him. The people
were selfish and ill-mannered in pressing about him. They gave him no time to
rest or to eat. They even broke in upon him—when he was at his private
devotions. But his patience and kindness never failed. Nothing ever ruffled or
interrupted his composure or irritated him in the slightest way. They told him
that the woman at his feet was evil, that her character was stained, and that
he should not let her touch him. But he continued his gracious kindness to
her—as if she had been the best woman in the land. They hated and persecuted
him, hurt and insulted him, spitting in his face, at last nailing him on the
cross; but he went on loving, never complaining, never resisting, showing no
resentment!
That is what good-will
to men means. Can we learn the lesson? That is part of what our
Christmas-making means. On Christmas Day, we feel "kindly
affectioned" toward all the world. We would not do harm to anyone. We let
nothing annoy or vex us. We try to keep our spirit sweet, even amid the most
irritating experiences. We forgive those who have wronged us. We give
up grudges and resentments. We are glad of any opportunity to be kind to those
who have been unkind to us. The problem is to keep up this good-will
tomorrow, to take it out with us into the life of the days after Christmas,
and to keep on making Christmas wherever we go all the days of the new year. If
we do all this—it will not take long to bring in the reign of love.
A prayer has been
suggested appropriate for those who are lonely at the Christmastide.
It seems fitting to suggest also a prayer for those who are happy in
their own homes or in circles of friends.
