Light of the
world you stepped down into darkness*
All of these
years ago
Born in a
humble place
To humble
people
At a time of
struggle
the time of
Herod and of Roman rule
And your
light shone out and spread wider and wider
And showed
the world a new and radical way
The way of
love.
A path of
peace.
Freedom and
healing and purpose.
We praise
you God of love
We thank you
Prince of peace
And here we
find ourselves today
Ordinary
people
In a
stunning world
Overflowing
with abundance
Full of
potential
But where
struggle is still with us
In a world
where tiny children flee Aleppo, not so far from Bethlehem
And we wonder
what a world influenced by Trump and Putin might bring
But we trust
in you.
God of light
you were there at the very beginning
Bringer of
light you were born on Christmas day
And nothing
can put that light out
Your
faithful love hovers over us
Your peace
lives within us and shows us where to put our feet
Your hope
reminds us that with you there is always a bigger picture
Your joy can
find its home in us even when things get hard
We praise
you God of love
We thank you
Prince of peace
We thank you
for the gift of Christmas
Amen.
* with gratitude to Tim Hughes for this line from "Here I am to worship"
