NeuroDivine

On the fifth day of Christmas, the Church turns its gaze toward Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury whose witness still echoes through the centuries. His story sits at the meeting point of faith and power, courage and cost. In the glow of Christmastide, we remember that the Child born in Bethlehem did not come only to bring comfort, but to call his people into truth, mercy, and steadfast love.

Thomas Becket stood firm in a turbulent age, defending the freedom of the Church and the integrity of the Gospel even when confronted by the demands of secular authority. His martyrdom in Canterbury Cathedral remains a stark reminder that the peace proclaimed by the angels is not a passive peace, but one that asks something of us — a peace shaped by conviction, humility, and costly fidelity.

As we hold Thomas Becket’s witness alongside the light of Christmastide, we are reminded that faith is never merely an idea but a way of living shaped by courage, mercy, and truth. His story invites us to look again at the Child in the manger — the one whose quiet birth unsettles the powers of the world and calls us into a deeper fidelity. The hymn that follows gathers these threads together, letting Christmas hope and martyr’s witness speak to one another, and inviting us to walk in that same steadfast light.

1.
In Christmas light your servants stand,
Held in the peace your birth has planned;
So Thomas walked your narrow way,
And bore your truth on winter’s day.

2.
The Child once laid in manger bare
Now calls his people still to dare:
To speak for right, defend the weak,
And stand with Christ, as Thomas meek.

3.
Where swords were cast upon the stone,
The Christ‑child’s light has brightly shone;
His manger‑mercy, meek and mild,
Redeems the place where Thomas died.

4.
O Christ, whose birth the angels sing,
Whose reign outlasts each earthly king,
Grant us, like him, the heart to share
Your Christmas peace in steadfast care.

Text copyright Michael McFarland Campbell 2025.