By Abbey Adcox
The days after Christmas settle quietly. Anticipation fades, gatherings shrink and the house glows with decorations, though the mood shifts. Some feel relief; others sense a gentle ache. What lingers is not clarity but a mix of gratitude and weariness, joy and worry. We return to ordinary days carrying more than we realize. Even here, God draws near.
The Christian tradition recognizes this quiet turning. Howard Thurman reminds us that when the angels’ song grows silent, and the shepherds return to their fields, the work of Christmas truly begins. Christmas is not held in a single day. Its meaning grows as it settles into daily life, where faith is shaped not by spectacle but by presence.
This is the faith formed in small moments: taking down decorations one ornament at a time, returning to work or school and washing dishes after guests have gone home. It is shaped by choosing patience over hurry, kindness over irritation and attentiveness over distraction. These are not dramatic acts, but faithful ones. In such ordinary days, the meaning of Christmas learns how to stay.
Today’s worship honors this gentle unfolding. Familiar music invites us to pause, not to rush. Old melodies and carols help us find our way back to the story — slowly, without pressure. When words fail, these songs hold us, offering a place to rest in what we trust. Silence is welcome, too, giving us space to breathe, to listen and to notice God’s nearness.
Poet Joy Harjo offers a simple invitation: “Remember the sky that you were born under.” In worship, remembering is not about longing for the past. It is a way of finding our place again; it grounds us. We recall who we are, where we stand and what has already been given to us. Christians trust that Christ entered the world beneath the same sky that covers us now, sharing our world, our vulnerability and the patterns of our ordinary days.
As you come to worship, you bring what this week has given you. The joy of Christmas remains — steady — carrying us into what comes next.
May this service offer space to breathe, sing, listen and trust that the God who came near at Christmas is still near now.