In the days surrounding Christmas we always think of those who have died. “This is the first Christmas without them.
Even if they died long ago, we remember them in a special way every Christmas.
It must have been like that for Mary and Jesus when, after Joseph died, they celebrated Passover…and a feast in which the father of the family had an important part.
At Passover Mary especially missed her husband, whom she loved. And Jesus missed his father, whom he loved.
But for Mary, there would come another special day that was a mixture of joy and sorrow. We don’t know the exact date of Jesus’ birth. But Mary did.
Mary would have been in her middle or late 40s when Jesus was killed. Each year after that, Mary celebrated the birthday of Jesus – Christmas – without her husband, and without her son.
Whomever you miss at Christmas…talk to Mary. She understands.
Spend some quiet time with the Lord.
Thomas Grey
On this date in 1771, the poet, Thomas Gray, was born. His “Elegy Written in a Country Church Yard” became one of the best known English lyric poems.
Gray was the sole survivor of 12 children. His was an unhappy home dominated by a harsh and violent father and a long-suffering mother.
Gray was a man of quiet study, rich imagination, and a few close and understanding friends. At age 26, he settled at Cambridge and devoted himself to writing poetry.
He spent a long time writing his “Elegy Written in a Country Church Yard,” which was published in 1751. The poem reflected on the graves of humble and unknown villagers. It brought him instant fame.
Gray’s poetry began to fade after that, and he turned to study rather than writing. He died at age 55, and was buried in the country churchyard in which he wrote his poem.
After reflecting that many people buried in the church yard had gifts the world never knew, Gray wrote:
Full many a gem of purest ray serene,
The dark unfathom’d caves of ocean bear:
Full many a flow’r is born to blush unseen,
And waste its sweetness on the desert air.
(From “Elegy Written in a Country Church Yard”)