‘Twas two days after Christmas, when all through the home
No decorations remained, not even a gnome.
The Christmas stockings were all packed away.
None of the relatives even could stay.
Mom and Dad are gone and back to work
The kids are still off school, one acting like a jerk.
The creche still remains in a corner by the door
Oops, the dog’s tail knocked St. Joseph to the floor.
The bright colored paper and gleaming red bows
Are in the recycling bin, next to the melting piles of snow.
The festive music that once blared on the radio non-stop
Has ended faster that a speeder seeing a cop.
It’s all back to normal, the holiday all but forsaken
Suddenly joy all seems to have been taken.
In a cave in Bethlehem, once used as a stable
A young couple could not forget, they were not able.
A young child had they, so far from home,
A three-day journey they still had to roam.
With a baby so young, sweet, innocent, and dear
And a perilous journey with so much to fear,
Mary and Joseph set out for home
Commencing a journey that would end with a King on a Throne.
Arriving back at their house, Mary and Joseph took care
To raise the baby Jesus to be King David’s heir
Forget they could not, the destiny of this child
The one in swaddling clothes, so meek and so mild.
He was destined to be the rise and the fall
Of many, so many, they could not count them all.
A Church He would start, this now-infant king,
And to Salvation, so many He would bring
In Churches and Parishes throughout the world so wide
Christmas has just begun, seemingly bucking the tide
Of businesses and stores, and companies so giant
That they would have us think that they were the gods
to whom we should be compliant
Celebrating until Epiphany, of Christmas the Twelfth day
Only then should we think to put Christmas away.
Then at His Baptism, about a week hence
Can we still celebrate His birth, yes in the present tense.
The baby never really left us, His Church still remains
To teach, love, and guide us, always forever the same.
So let us celebrate this birth of so great a King
And never forget the salvation He brings.
The inheritance is now ours, along with the joy
That came with the birth of a young baby boy.
So then let us celebrate! Make mirth and rejoice!
Let us never stop praising Him with our own voice!
Let us live in Him, always doing what is right,
Merry Christmas to all! And to all a good night!
May you have a blessed Christmas season, and a Holy New Year in 2026 from all of us at Holy Trinity.
Rev. John A. Cramer
Pastor of Holy Trinity NCC
Kewanee, Ill.
The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of The Kewanee Voice.
***This column is sponsored by the Kewanee Ministerial Association
