from I Corinthians 12, Eugene Petersen's translation, "The Message"Winter, and very cold,
and the night at
its deepest. The politicians,
as usual, double-tongued.
The town chaotic, teeming
with strangers.
And tonight, as often
in winter, in Bethlehem,
snow is falling.
I always love how each flake,
torn from the sky,
arrives separately,
without sound, almost
unnoticed in
a flurry of others. How
each one (on a clear
night) lies there glittering
on the swelling breast
of snow, crisp
and intact, as wholly itself
as every radiant star
in a sky sparkling
with galaxies.
How many new
babies tonight
in Judea, coming
like snowflakes?
But plucked,
dazzling, from the
eternal heavens,
into time,
tonight is born
The One.
-Luci Shaw, Accompanied by Angels: Poems of the Incarnation
The Kents Hill Vespers ceremony was beautiful this year, not just in the Torsey Sanctuary setting, but in the spirit. Not one student or staff member complained about the terrible rain storm that swept us in! I chose "snowflakes" as the focusing image this year, largely because of Jacqueline Briggs's marvelous children's book about the inventor, Snowflake Bentley, illustrated by gifted woodblock artist, Mary Azarian.
Like people, no two snowflakes are alike. Yet, like people, snowflakes group together, becoming more than any one can be alone. Fatih communities and schools are both sticky clusters of unique creatures. Like the snowflake's individual, fractally patterned arms, the gifts in each of us seek out others for mutual expression. The variety echoes the wonder of the Creator.
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