Every year, it seems like Christmas starts to come out a little sooner. Halloween is barely over (or may still be coming) when trees start going up and Mariah Carey’s vocals hit the radio. Which makes it interesting that so often there is such a rush to put Christmas back in the boxes and shove it on the shelf. It is as if we all have a sense that, as nice as the holidays are, it’s time to get back to the real world; back to school, back to work, back to reality. New Year’s Day comes, and we meet it with resolve, committed to doing something new, something better, something to improve our lives or the world in which we live.
This is usually the part where I say we shouldn’t move on from Christmas quite so quickly. But the truth is, that has nothing to do with keeping the tree up longer, waiting to put away the stockings, or singing Christmas carols for a few more weeks. The shepherds didn’t linger at the manger but returned to their folks. They went back to their work, back to their daily routine, but they were changed by the encounter they had with the Christ child. The goal is not to stay rooted in the precious moments and silent nights; it is to take what we have found in the manger back with us into a world that is in need of good news.
Every year at this time, I am reminded of a poem by Howard Thurman. He writes:
When the song of the angels is stilled,
when the star in the sky is gone,
when the kings and princes are home,
when the shepherds are back with their flocks,
the work of Christmas begins;
to find the lost,
to heal the broken,
to feed the hungry,
to release the prisoner,
to rebuild the nations,
to bring peace among the people,
to make music in the heart.
As we go forth from the manger, we are to be changed. As we enter into the new year, we are to be people of resolve. As we return to the “real world” we are to engage in the work of Christmas; the work of sharing with everyone we meet the good news that God has come into our world.
So don’t move on from Christmas, Beloved. Rather, let Christmas move you forward. Carry the gift of the manger with you as you go. And may the Christ who was born in Bethlehem so long ago be born in your heart today.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Will Starkweather
Last modified: January 23, 2026