Let us Sing: Advent Series - Tim Knipp

Coldly clinical
and detached
have we become -
shamed of sentiment
and callously claiming
selfishness
as good for survival.

Alleyways whisper,
"this is all there is,"
as trash containers overflow
with forgotten excess
and vermin scuttle
cynically into black holes.

Yet up above the filthy haze
glitter stars
that refuse to diminish
and deep inside
I feel a pull as real
as gravity,
a humming behind
the clanging marketplace -
a hint of the true song.
Listen. Can
you hear it?

Though the story 
has been co-opted,
stylized and marketized,
slicked out to sell;
yet it retains
its germ of Truth.
Look beyond the glitz,
see with the artist's eye,
let it flare out "like
shining from shook foil*"
to declare
His handiwork.

Let the patchwork of mess
and clutter
suggest patterns and 
textures,
delightful in juxtaposition.
Let eyes reflect
His face
as we look, 
and laser-like,
skip past the dinged
exterior to zero in
on light.

Then we will sing -
as we look for His treasures,
liberally sprinkled
so none escapes
His touch.
Every shadow is vibrant
with deep tones
that resonate
inside our aching chests
calling forth
an oceanic cry,
linking us with
the Father who gave
His beloved Son,
who knew separation
and loss 
for us.

And let us sing
in how we frame our worlds;
in how we choose our words.

Let us see divine beauty
in every blade of grass,
in moments caught in passing.
Let us see
and let us sing. 

*Gerald Manley Hopkins, "God's Grandeur"

Col. 1:16-17; Gen. 1:27; Rev. 5:6-13