Christmas

A Song for the Season: Soft Light From a Stable Door

Steve · December 7, 2013 · 1 Comment

A little something special for the seasons of Advent and Christmas…I’m going to periodically through December post lyrics and audio recordings of songs from our Christmas CD produced a few years ago, Nathanael’s Creed’s “Home Again with You.”

[If you’re looking for stocking stuffers, the CDs are available for $15, which includes postage and handling. Drop me an email or send a check to: Steve Givens, 51 High Valley Dr., Chesterfield, Mo. 63017.]

First up is “Soft Light from a Stable Door,” a song based on a beautiful poem by the English poet Lilian Cox.

To listen, click here: Soft Light from a Stable Door

Soft Light from a Stable Door
Words by Lilian Cox
Music by Steve Givens & Jim Russell

Soft light from a stable door
Lies on the midnight lands;
The wise men’s star burns evermore,
Over all the desert sands.

To all peoples of the earth
A little Child brought light;
And never in the darkest place
Can it be utter night.

No flick’ring torch, no wav’ring fire,
But Light the Life of men;
Whatever clouds may veil the sky,
Never is night again.

To all peoples of the earth
Never is night again.
The wise men’s star burns evermore
Never is night again.
Soft light from a stable door
Never is night again.
Never is night again.
Never is night again.
Never is night…

–

The players

Guitar: Jim Russell
Lead vocals: Steve Givens
Keyboard: Phil Cooper
Percussion: Pat Dillender
Bass: Gerry Kasper
Background vocals: Phil Cooper, Pat Dillender, Jim Russell and Gerry Kasper

Why Do You Seek the Living Among the Dead?

Steve · January 1, 2012 · 3 Comments

churchyard — Christian Brothers Cemetery at LaSalle, Glencoe, Mo.

Walking through cemeteries, I have learned over the years, is a lesson in awareness. We are reminded, of course, that we are dust and to dust we shall return. But we also learn the power of quiet, of stillness, of non-busyness. It’s hard to hurry through a graveyard, and why would we want to? If we’re in a cemetery that bears the remains of our own ancestors, we become perhaps all the more acutely aware that we are not alone, that our little, short lives are not the be-all and end-all, that we are a flash in the pan of the flintlock rifle of human existence. We are merely a thread in the larger strand of life that includes the fibers of so many other lives.

Both Here and There

Steve · December 11, 2011 · 11 Comments

MIssion Churchyard Cross, Steve Givens 2010.

He was but two,

the age they call “terrible,”

the age that elicits terrible questions too.

He stood at the crib at the church’s entrance;

he glanced up at the cross in the church’s sanctuary.

Then Aidan asked his mother,

“How can Jesus be both here and there?”

from “Aidan’s Question” by Bishop Robert Morneau, A Splash of Sunshine and Other Glimpses of Grace, Orbis Books, 2011.

Aidan’s question resonates deeply in me in these days leading up to Christmas. For especially now we Christians face this great, painful and glorious paradox of the wood – the wood of the stable and the wood of the cross. Back in my undergraduate days, I wrote this (very) short poem:

A Simple Gift

Steve · December 25, 2010 · 1 Comment

candle — Light from the Grotto, by Steve Givens

The lights of the City of David shine

As a single star pierces the night.

Restless within her a miracle waits,

Incarnation of holiest light.

But how can this be?

That an angel came down from above?

Are there gifts so precious they must be passed on? Are there gifts as simple as love?

[Read more…] about A Simple Gift

Advent Week 2: Just what are we waiting for?

Steve · December 5, 2010 · 3 Comments

Natural Light — Carmel Mission Light, photo by Steve Givens

Everybody knows that Advent is a time when we wait and prepare for the coming of Jesus at Christmas. That’s what we’ve been taught since childhood. But what does it really mean to us today if, in fact, we believe that Jesus is already here, moving and working among us? Just what are we waiting and preparing for?

What we should be preparing for is Christ’s birth (or rebirth) in us. So this year, in the midst of all the preparations for Christmas, make Advent a time for seeking God’s will. Like wise men and shepherds drawn to a manger in Bethlehem, seek out and find Jesus in your life, then seek out and discern God’s will for your life. Instead of planning for New Year’s resolutions that will disappear as quickly as dried-out Christmas trees, plan for a new year and a new life in which Christ is at the very core.

We sometimes find ourselves waiting for God to act in our lives. We pray: “Please, God, do this and then I’ll be able to do that.” But praying this way, instead of empowering us to action, often paralyzes us from doing anything at all. We sit and wait for God to act or respond, when all the time we are forgetting what God has already given.

We come to each new day with a body inherited from our parents and strengthened (or weakened) by our lives and activities. We come with an intellect that has developed through years of education and experience. But whatever the strengths or weaknesses of our bodies and minds, when God the potter applies His hand we become so much more. We become a work of art ready to proclaim the glory of the artist. Our only role in this transformation process is to allow ourselves to be shaped. To do this, we must give in to the will of the Creator. We must allow God to be a part of every decision that we make. We must place all of our important decisions in God’s hands. We must live our lives so people can see Christ in us. And there’s no better time to start than right now, during this season of preparing and waiting.

Our ultimate profession of faith is our ability to proclaim with each new day: “I’m yours, Lord. Do what you want with me.”