Lord Christ, infant Savior, Incarnate God, Emmanuel, today we rejoice in your coming to us, becoming fully human, rendering nothing and no one God-forsaken.
As we celebrate or work, spend time surrounded by loved ones or mark this day alone, we know, Loving God, you are with us. We give thanks that you refuse to leave us, you never abandon us, you dwell with us even when we struggle to recognize your presence.
We confess our propensity to be distracted, oblivious to the holy, enamored by that which does not truly satisfy, captivated by our wants and our will, rather than focused on you, your birth and the great reversal your arrival sets off in the universe.
Wherever we find ourselves this day, we plead for the wisdom to be alert, aware, awake to your inbreaking and the transformation it brings in us and in all creation.
We know that there are those still shrouded in deep darkness. Help us to reflect the light of Christ in the world, the light that cannot be extinguished, stopped or overcome.
As we worship at the manager, embolden us to go proclaim all we have seen and heard until everyone knows they are beloved by no less than the Most High God, the One who comes to save the world. Amen.
Chester Eastside 