A Prayer For Advent - To Light Their Way
The season leading up to Christmas O come, Emmanuel. We enter this time of Advent With holy anticipation. We enter this sacred season With bated breath. O come, Emmanuel. We’re prone to get tangled In sparkling lights and glittering tinsel, Lost in to-do lists, Swallowed in the seas Of ribbons and restless hearts and weary souls. O come, Emmanuel. Our nights have not been silent, Calm, or bright. We have been up late Squinting at the stars, Trying to make sense Of the hurting world our children will inherit, And our weary hearts in it all. O come, Emmanuel. We see the wonder etched in our children’s eyes, And we ask for our grown-up anxieties To be set free As we await the day To celebrate The God who made a way. O come, Emmanuel. Ignite in us the awe of a child, Looking into a manger scene As we wait on the promise Of the coming infant King In a humble stable. O come, Emmanuel. The whole world waits for You. We are at war with each other And ourselves. We have clung to our idols Of power and pocketbooks, And we cry out for the ways We have reflected King Herod, Even as we ache for You, Prince of Peace. O come, Emmanuel. Help us light the candles And illuminate the darkness Within us. O Light of the world, Be with us as we recite these stories With our children— Of shepherds and angels and Peace for all people. Ring the bells Of righteousness, of justice, of hope. O come, Emmanuel. Help us prepare the way In our hearts and in our home, In our family and in our children. As we hang stockings and ornaments, As we frost cookies and tie bows, We know Your peace Can’t be bought or packaged. O come, Emmanuel. We anticipate great news That we so desperately need. Break into this world Again and again and again, Like You did so many years ago. Bring joy to the people, Hope to the hopeless, Light to the darkness. And may we and our children Prepare You room So that we may be instruments Of Your peace. O come, Emmanuel. We thank You for this time of anticipation And for the glimmers of Your light Spilling in even now Among the ornaments and the candy canes. We thank You for this time of together. Help us to get quiet, to get small So we can make space in our souls For the Newborn Who will illuminate the darkness And change everything. O come, O come, Emmanuel. John 1:3-5A Prayer for Advent
