The Coach’s Corner Newsletter #83
December 25th, 2024 marked the 5th time since 1900 that the first night of Hanukkah and Christmas fell on the same day.
To celebrate this rare alignment of the lunar and solar calendars, I offer two poems of hope and light wherever you are today.
A Hanukkah Prayer for a Time of Darkness
By Marla Baker
Creator of All,
In the beginning You made the night sky luminous with the light of the moon and the stars and
You made the daytime bright with the light of the sun and
Saw that it was good.
And You created human beings in Your own image, with capacity
To distinguish dark from light, with capacity
To create holy sparks, see into the shadows and
Shine light where it is dark.
And You saw that it was very good.
Creator of All and Rock of Ages,
In the time of the Maccabees once more You worked a miracle of light,
Permitting our ancestors to rededicate holy space.
And it lasted eight days and eight nights.
Creator of All and Rock of Ages,
In the dark of night, at the darkest time of year
We light candles in remembrance of the miracle,
One more each night until there are eight.
Creator of All and Rock of Ages,
Too many lights have been extinguished.
The world has grown too dark.
Creator of Light and Dark,
Teach us once more to see into the shadows,
To shed our light in all the dark corners and to
Create holy sparks for all humankind
So that once more we can say
It is very good.
First coming
Madeleine L’Engle
He did not wait till the world was ready,
till men and nations were at peace.
He came when the Heavens were unsteady,
and prisoners cried out for release.
He came when the need was deep and great.
He dined with sinners in all their grime,
turned water into wine. He did not wait
till hearts were pure. In joy he came
to a tarnished world of sin and doubt.
To a world like ours, of anguished shame
he came, and his Light would not go out.
He came to a world which did not mesh,
to heal its tangles, shield its scorn.
In the mystery of the Word made Flesh
the Maker of the stars was born.
We cannot wait till the world is sane
to raise our songs with joyful voice,
for to share our grief, to touch our pain,
He came with Love: Rejoice! Rejoice!
My takeaway
Whether you lit the first candle of Hanukkah on December 25th, or read the Christmas story illuminated by advent candles, you shared in the comfort of light. Light that shines through the darkness.
Thank you for including me in your journey through life and work, with a bit of reflection.
There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.
Leonard Cohen
