Journey
by Starlight
A star rises in the silence of the
night
and shatters the deep darkness of
my heart's
loneliness and longing.
A star breaks away from the lowly
horizon
and climbs into the heights
where its brightness sings forth
in glory and in hope.
A star's shining song fills the dawn
and wakes my dull and sleeping spirit
and my blind eyes
with new light.
Set out upon the way, my soul, set
out upon the way.
A Savior has been born for you.
Make haste and go and find him.
The journeying is long.
The way lies through wasted desert
land,
yet grace is in the very seeking.
With each step the star's light
burns deeper into my heart
and fills me with its searing brightness
till all of me is aglow with its
fire.
With each step my burdens and my
poor, shoddy riches
are laid down by the wayside
as I press on toward the new life
awaiting me
and approach with heart and hands
open wide to its embrace.
Yes, grace lies upon the edges of
this long journey,
and time to prepare the heart.
The star leads onward to the Truth,
clothed not in the guise of kingly
might and splendor
but in the frail, naked flesh of
a newborn babe
wrapped in swaddling bands and lying
in a manger
where God shares our poverty and
weakness,
made like us in all but sin.
Look deeper as the star's light shines
upon this Truth
and dispels the gloomy darkness.
Sink down and kneel.
Bow low before his presence there
upon the hay.
Lay down your crown, 0 soul, alongside
the wise men's there.
Lay down your pomp and power,
your privileges and pride and presumptions,
your own rights and righteousness.
Offer there your treasures at the
manger:
Desire and dream purified to finest
gold,
hopes and prayers raised and sacrificed
as fragrant frankincense,
griefs and pains and disappointments
anointed
and laid to rest with myrrh's balm.
Let the Child take these poor treasures
in hand
ta make of them his playthings,
&&re to see the pleasure
he takes in them,
&ere to await what he will make
of them for you,
Far better than your own doing.
And having offered my heart's gifts
and done him homage in silent adoration,
now I return to my own land.
But the star's light is my companion
and burns steadily within,
warming my stony coldness,
enlightening my vision,
and guiding my steps along the pilgrim's
way
till I meet this Child again,
then throned and robed in full majesty
and royal splendor
at his Father's side.
Copyright (c) 2006 by Jeanne Kun
Used with permission of author.
