(More prayers found here)
On the Incarnation of Jesus
I
In the Beginning
In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
In the beginning,
outside of time as we know it
before the clock of the universe started ticking
there you were,
The lover, the beloved, the love,
O my God.
And loving,
you began the clock
that led to this moment.
You brought us your light
to shine in our darkness,
to reveal the meaninglessness
we thought our lives to be,
who showed us the darkness
to be but shadows,
revealed to us the depths of your love,
your longing to bring us to you,
the price you were willing to pay.
You who created,
who breathed life into the lifeless world,
who, beyond all need to step into time,
came for love,
came to show us love,
came to be love for us.
Glory to you!
II
Thoughts on the gifts of the Magi
Lord, help me not just hear about sorrows and
disasters, troubles and needs,
and feel sad and impotent and useless.
Show me how to respond to you
whereever you show your face,
not just on the news stories,
not just to people far away,
but here too,
in the forgotten
and hidden and
undesirable.
Teach me to use my hands
to cover your nakedness,
not just "over there,"
but here at home where a homeless person
sleeps in the cold,
or a child needs socks
or a mother wears slippers in the cold
so her children can have sneakers.
Teach me to see the need,
to give you food and drink
not just to a foreign mission,
but to those here who are forgotten,
the elderly,
the ill,
the out of work,
all those we choose not to see day by day.
Teach me to share your light
wherever it is needed.
Let me see your face in the afflicted,
the sad,
the grieving,
the angry,
those who most distress me.
O my Jesus,
who as a child received the gifts of the Magi,
let me offer you the gold
of good intentions put into practice,
the healing myrrh that comes by sharing your peace,
the frankincense of prayer and action
offered up to you, through you, by your power,
this day, and always.
Amen
III
Sweet Perfect Child
Sweet, perfect child
laying in Our Lady's lap,
how amazing to think of who you are.
Dim the light
in this stable tonight,
and yet, the Light of the world
has come to join us.
Sweet, perfect child
laying in our Lady's lap,
how amazing to think of who you are.
Straw and the lowing
of cattle tonight
greet your coming,
forcasting how many
would have no room for you
in the inn of their lives,
yet still with the shepherds,
those of us who listen to the singing of heaven
come and find you ever anew
to discover the love that brings you here.
Sweet perfect child,
laying in our Lady's lap,
how amazing to think of who you are.
Now, with Mary,
let us celebrate
the wonder of your coming.
Now, with the angels,
let us raise our voices
for the wonder of you love.
Sweet perfect child,
laying in our Lady's lap,
how amazing to think of who you are.
IV
In This Season
In this season,
may we pause in amazement
of God With Us,
Emanuel,
laying there,
not as a mighty king,
but a child
with no roof of his own
who has come to lead us to our true home.
V
The Present
There I see you,
my king and my God,
laying there in the manger,
newly come into the world
with all the bright promise
of that wonderful gift.
What gift have I to bring
to lay at your feet
in joyful offering
for this wonderous moment?
I give you my heart,
torn and touched with sin,
my hands, too often used to hurt
as well as help,
my mouth to sing your praise,
even as it says that which causes pain.
It is not much, I know,
to give to you who hold the universe
in your hands,
but like the widow's mite
I lay it at your feet,
all that I have to give.
In your hands, Lord,
may it become transformed
into something that will please you.
VI
On the Nativity
Thank you Jesus,
for not coming to us in a palace,
waited on by servants,
pampered in cloth of gold
and surrounded by walls
to keep out those of us
not worthy to glimpse your perfection.
Thank you instead,
for coming to us poor but accessible,
laying in a cattle feeding box
for lack of a better bed,
in a hovel meant for animals,
where anyone could walk in
and see the miracle of
God taking on flesh.
Lord, teach us to value
what is really important -
As we celebrate the miracle of your birth,
and on this and every day of our lives.
Amen.
© 2003, 2004 Susan E. Stone
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Sweet Perfect Child
Sweet, perfect child
laying in Our Lady's lap,
how amazing to think of who you are.
Dim the light
in this stable tonight,
and yet, the Light of the world
has come to join us.
Sweet, perfect child
laying in our Lady's lap,
how amazing to think of who you are.
Straw and the lowing
of cattle tonight
greet your coming,
forcasting how many
would have no room for you
in the inn of their lives,
yet still with the shepherds,
those of us who listen to the singing of heaven
come and find you ever anew
to discover the love that brings you here.
Sweet perfect child,
laying in our Lady's lap,
how amazing to think of who you are.
Now, with Mary,
let us celebrate
the wonder of your coming.
Now, with the angels,
let us raise our voices
for the wonder of you love.
Sweet perfect child,
laying in our Lady's lap,
how amazing to think of who you are.
IV
In This Season
In this season,
may we pause in amazement
of God With Us,
Emanuel,
laying there,
not as a mighty king,
but a child
with no roof of his own
who has come to lead us to our true home.
V
The Present
There I see you,
my king and my God,
laying there in the manger,
newly come into the world
with all the bright promise
of that wonderful gift.
What gift have I to bring
to lay at your feet
in joyful offering
for this wonderous moment?
I give you my heart,
torn and touched with sin,
my hands, too often used to hurt
as well as help,
my mouth to sing your praise,
even as it says that which causes pain.
It is not much, I know,
to give to you who hold the universe
in your hands,
but like the widow's mite
I lay it at your feet,
all that I have to give.
In your hands, Lord,
may it become transformed
into something that will please you.
VI
On the Nativity
Thank you Jesus,
for not coming to us in a palace,
waited on by servants,
pampered in cloth of gold
and surrounded by walls
to keep out those of us
not worthy to glimpse your perfection.
Thank you instead,
for coming to us poor but accessible,
laying in a cattle feeding box
for lack of a better bed,
in a hovel meant for animals,
where anyone could walk in
and see the miracle of
God taking on flesh.
Lord, teach us to value
what is really important -
As we celebrate the miracle of your birth,
and on this and every day of our lives.
Amen.
© 2003, 2004 Susan E. Stone
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