Prayer for today (12/25/16)

God of every Christmas, you remind us of the sparkling star that was Bethlehem’s holy promise. In these days, we wait again for the birth of your son, our Savior and Mary’s infant.

Like young Mary, we wait for him in trembling, joyful expectation under the beam of Bethlehem’s star. Like Joseph, we wait with the protective concern of a father pondering how this magnificent star has so miraculously marked the birthplace of the child.

We wait for Christ Jesus as the shepherds waited, keeping watch in their fields, filled with fear and with wonder, waiting through the darkness of night, yet amazed that Bethlehem’s star shone on the very place of the Savior’s birth.

Like the angels who hovered among the stars with the message, “Feat not, for I bring you tiding of great joy for all people,” we sing in exultation the words we have long known, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace.”

Like the Magi who traveled so far from the Orient to see the Christ child following this celestial star, we are filled to overflowing with grateful adoration, and like them, we pay homage with priceless gifts.

And what gifts can we bring you, Christ Jesus? We offer you our hearts of love, and we pray that you will fill them with your compassion. We offer our hands, that we might do your work in the world, and we pray you will coarsen them with your labor as they reach out to help hurting brothers and sisters. We offer you our feet made ready to follow your call on the rough, dusty, desolate roads among people who know pain and loss. Finally, we give you our lives, that they may move at the impulse of your love, embracing those who need a warm embrace, and changing the world.

We thank you, Christ Jesus, remembering your birth among us under Bethlehem’s star, for as you are born again among us in this season, we will be miraculously reborn by your birth. Amen.

This story was originally published December 24, 2016 at 9:00 PM with the headline "Prayer for today (12/25/16)."