Christmas in Twenty-Twenty-Four

When day breaks on Christmas, and finished is your snore What awaits the daylight in twenty-twenty-four? Will you tear into the presents, wrapped up so neat Then gather at the table, be stuffed as you eat? Will you have time for a story, told by a child Can you share a story, as they listen so mild Can you enjoy these moments, soon to be no more Will you treasure Christmas in twenty-twenty-four? Next year gives no promise, that we will be alive To enjoy Christmas day in twenty-twenty-five So be glad for the lights and tinsel on display Thank God for blessings He has chosen to portray Yet we have some neighbors whose health is in decay Others are burdened with conflict that leads them astray Lack of job and money keep many in dismay Love, peace, hope, and friendship for them seems faraway In our politics there is hatred and divide Trapped in derision refusing to be allied Without sentiment for solution, we collide Voices of opinion unable to coincide This is reality in twenty-twenty-four A cloud hanging over us we cannot ignore From the darkness of this backdrop, we search for joy With our eyes on heaven the Spirt we deploy We encounter confusion, jealousy, and jeers Insults, heartache, and enmity weaken our cheers But with faith, hope, and love, we refuse to deplore We will celebrate Christ in twenty-twenty-four! Our minds take a journey, we travel cross the sea We imagine the fear and pain of war’s debris We envision a soldier, voicing his demand We hear cries, we see tears, as radar scans the land Fire pierces the darkness, as the missiles make their flight Death their designation in the middle of the night Why do men despise each other, why must we kill? Made in God’s image, why is death our chosen skill? To this I have no answer, I remain confused Though the Lord detests it, it has not been defused Fighting will not cease, so long as words condescend Void of respect for others, hearts will not amend But let us face the trouble, in hope let us pray That peace be found within us, this glorious day When the evil chatter, and doubts within us rise May we have faith in Christ, in whom salvation lies Despite the suffering, and the many things wrong We must stop long enough to sing the joyful song For this we know, on Christmas twenty-twenty-four Jesus is coming, He is here, O’ Come let us adore