Today, the second day of Christmas,
    is the Feast of Stephen,
the day, you may recall,
    when Good King Wenceslas and his page
ventured out to help a poor man,
    who was struggling to survive
the wind and cold
    of a particularly nasty winter night.

When you hear or sing this carol,
    with whom do you most identify?

Do you see yourself
    as the sturdy and determined king,
moving with slow, singular purpose
    on your mission of compassion?

Do you see yourself
    as the king's loyal helper,
 cold and frightened
    but admiring your sovereign's strength,
trusting his guidance?

Or are you the one fighting for survival,
    gathering sticks to kindle your meager fire,
never dreaming how grace approaches
    even now through the blowing snow–
meat and mead and fuel–
    carried by the hands of God?

Text and image © 2013 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.