A Christmas Day Prayer

Emmanuel, God with us, thank you for this day when we are overwhelmed with the light of this world.  The lights wrapped around the Christmas tree, the lights glowing on houses, the light in children’s eyes, the light of Christ as it enters the world each year on this day.  May our hearts reflect this light so that all may see it.  May it warm each one of us and all we meet.

Emmanuel, God with us, thank you for this time to be present to the light, to be with those we love.  May this day fill us with joy like never before as we remember all that you have done.  May we celebrate new life and renewed hope. May we carry that hope with us all year long.

Emmanuel, God with us, thank you for your love that accompanies the light.  A love that won’t let us go.  A love that transcends all and is with us from generation to generation.

From generation to generation,
we have been claimed and loved.
From generation to generation,
God has been by our side.
From generation to generation,
we are not alone.
The God of yesterday and the God of tomorrow
knows you by name, loves you, and calls you forth,
saying, “Go be the person you are called to be,
love wildly and do justice.”
May it be so. Amen.
- A Benediction By Sarah Speed

Scripture: Matthew 1:23

Look, the virgin shall become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means, “God is with us.”