Let us pray.
Glorious God, whose word brings life to the most common person or one who is socially higher. You bring lower the proud and give new hope to the lost. Your voice calls to the wayward and speaks living grace to the corrupted. Lord as we approach the Bethlehem manger once again, revisiting Your Holy entering into Your rebellious creation, we pause not sure if we are looking to Your past presence or to Your coming again. Our yearning hearts are filled with expectation of what should be and what could be. We are having to see beyond what is and what our earthly eyes can perceive to witness Your divine hand leading a revolution through Your redeeming grace.
We are challenged to go beyond our notion of giving and look to Your elaborate gift in Bethlehem. We too often miss the value of the messiness that You entered into to bring together the faithful, the blind, the ignorant, the hurting, the lost, fearful, common people yearning for a glimpse of Your divine love to touch their broken reality, to touch our hurting lives. You did not come as one wielding great power but as one whose gentle, fragile life, free of sin, could enter in and welcome even the lowliest person or one with such pride. Lord help us to not get lost on the journey to Bethlehem. Help us to ear Your words challenging our status quo. Help us to see the work that Your Holy Spirit is doing in lives that we too easily blind ourselves to. Help us to share Your good news that our saviour has come. We pray this all in the name of Jesus. Amen.