(Written in 2012)
Eternal One who came to earth on this night so long ago,
As Christmas takes over our hearts, we pray that powerful changes would happen in the world around us, so that your kingdom will come in mighty ways:
That no nation will will take advantage of the poor or kick them out or turn them away.
That no pregnant teenager or sexually other will be disgraced, frowned upon, or excommunicated.
That doors will be opened for those who are looking for a way through.
That shepherds and those sitting alone will not be afraid.
That harmful walls and bombs and barbed wire and angry soldiers may not be found in Bethlehem.
That wise ones will still seek You.
That vulnerable children and minorities may be protected from those who would abuse and use them.
That the hungry will be fed.
That war will end.
That the lonely, the hurting, and the sick will be comforted.
That true worship will emerge from your manger.
That your church will become a stable, where heaven and earth meet, where all are welcome.
That Your people will care.
That all will see that You have come among us!
You came in the darkness and the quietness then, and You come in the darkness and quietness now.
May we believe that You are ready to do something different, as you did so long ago in Bethlehem.
Come into the darkness and help us to believe.
Come into the silence that is afraid.
Come into the quietness and keep us vulnerable to You as You were to us.
Come and do something new.
Let this Christmas be like the first Christmas.
Amen.
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