“When the song of the angels is stilled, when the star in the sky is gone. When the kings and the princes are home, when the shepherds are back with their flock, 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 brothers, to make music in the heart.” Howard Thurman
The quote above took my breath away. I was hurrying to find my place in the Advent devotional that I didn’t quite finish on time—only two more entries. You can do this. It’s fine that it’s “late,” I told myself. Springing from the bookmarked page was this quote. The work of Christmas continues long after the decorations are put away, and Advent devos are completed (or almost completed).
This work of Christmas echoes the prophecy in Isaiah that Jesus reads in Luke 4:18-19:
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Jesus reads this passage to begin and set the tone of his public ministry. This is the adventure he invites us to join. We can bring good news to the poor with Jesus’ salvation message and provisions to feed their bodies. We can preach freedom for those entangled in sin and fight for those unjustly accused. We can pray for healing and support a nonprofit that helps people in need get glasses. We can meet spiritual and physical, mental, and emotional needs.
Why is this the work of Christmas? Between Jesus’ first advent and his second, we can look to Jesus’ life and teachings for a vision of what the world will be like in the new heaven and new earth. Today, we have the opportunity to practice it early. Sometimes, the dark seems so dark. We may labor (and get discouraged) without seeing the purposes completely fulfilled. Still, we keep going because this work that stirs our heart, that makes being human worth it, that is a vision of hope, wholeness, and enoughness.
The list seems overwhelming. Probably because it is. But what if we were to do this together? What if we picked one or two things to do really well, while everyone else was doing one or two really well, and then we covered everything? Instead of getting overwhelmed and doing nothing, we can take a small step in doing something. Collectively, some small things add up to a movement of living faith.
The work of Christmas isn’t just in the grandeur of royalty visiting or in the commotion of shepherds sharing the good news. It definitely isn’t the gifts, beautiful décor, or even the delicious food. It is in the everyday work of faithful people, like you and me. In 2026, as we make goals, let’s include the work of Christmas.