Our Pride is Offended, but our Souls are Free

With the passing of Christmas day insecurities arise:
Did we do it right?
Did we sing the right songs?
Give the right gifts?
Play the right games?
Eat the right meal?
Spend enough time with family?

Forgive us for measuring the success of Christmas-
as if this were possible to do.
Remind us of stunning realities-
That Jesus lived perfectly for us,
                  sang songs of redemption over us,
                  gifted us with new life in him,
                  freed us to worship and play,
                  sacramentally taught us to eat and drink,
                  promised to dwell with us always.
The "success" of Christmas was never up to us.
         The Lord Jesus came.
         The Lord Jesus comes.
         The Lord Jesus will come again.

Give us this season sweet fellowship with you.
Give us belief in your presence-
         Your holy, blessed, joyous, and nourishing presence.
We confess that we long for Heaven for the wrong reasons:
We want our suffering to end,
        not to be in the presence of the Suffering Servant.
We want to be freed from having to worry,
        not to be in the presence of the sovereign one.
We want to watch others proved wrong,
        not to see the name of Jesus high and lifted up.

When we pray for the Kingdom of God to come,
show us that this means the death of ourselves,
                                      the death of our accomplishments,
                                      the death of our efforts,
                                      the death of our fame,
                                      the death of our merit.
Your kingdom belongs to He who came as a baby.
We have been working our whole lives to bring gifts to the manger.
Forgive us, lavish us, and secure us in that we have nothing to offer!
Our pride is offended, but our souls are free.

We praise you Emmanuel.
Grant us faith in Him who has come,
and help us to believe that there is no life in any other.

Still clinging to the gifts we just got,
we cry out to You for continuous grace.

Amen.

No Matter the Busyness and Thrill

Our schedules are sometimes full and exciting,

                              sometimes full and exhausting, 

                              sometimes full but incredibly boring. 

Yet, You always find us.
No matter the busyness and thrill. 

And we recognize-

         these are not gifts you give us in passing.

 Rather, You, ever-present Lord, 

         are the nourishment we receive and are glad for. 

These gifts are not just from you, they are you! 

Teach us to think of the babe in the manger 

         not as a symbol of salvation,

         but as the very substance of it. 

You, Jesus, are our peace and joy. 

We don't just trust that you will be good to us in giving us good things, 

        but that you will be good to us in the giving of yourself.

We are a weary and busy people,

         always hoping that trusting in things will taste sweet. 

Shower us with yourself, and give us a new song to sing-

"'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus."

How sweet indeed!

Amen.

"The Grace and the Impatience to Wait"- By Walter Brueggemann

By: Walter Brueggemann- Taken from Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth

"In our secret yearning
we wait for your coming,
and in our grinding despair
we doubt that you will.

And in this privileged place
we are surrounded by witnesses who yearn more than do we
and by those who despair more deeply than do we.

Look upon your church and its pastors
in this season of hope
which runs so quickly to fatigue
and in this season of yearning
which becomes so easily quarrelsome.

Give us the grace and the impatience
to wait for your coming to the bottom of our toes,
to the edges of our fingertips.

We do not want our several worlds to end.

Come in your power,
and come in your weakness,
in any case,
and make all things new.

Amen."

What A Savior We Have in Christ- An Advent Prayer

In This Advent Season:

What a Savior we have in Christ!

He, who defined righteousness and accomplished it.

He, who came in helpless form, revealing different riches.

He, who spoke through parable, inviting belief and faith.

He, who loved the unlovable, and cherished the forsaken.

He, who did not see equality with God something to be grasped.

He, who laid down his life as God's determinative response to sin.

He, who was raised up to return to the Father's side in glory.

He, who swallows up sinners in Himself, thereby reconciling them to God.

He, who declares sinners holy and beloved through his wounds.

This season we celebrate what you, O Christ have done.

What is more, we cherish you-

         not as a babe who came and went,

         but as our present and interceding Lord.

Open our eyes to the reality of this!
Grant us sight, and grace us with belief.

Teach us to know life with you as life in you.

And in the name of Jesus we ask,

Amen.

"O holy night! The stars are brightly shining,

It is the night of our dear Saviour’s birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
‘Til He appear’d and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

Fall on your knees! O hear the angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born;
O night divine, O night, O night Divine.

Led by the light of Faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming,
Here come the wise men from Orient land.
The King of Kings lay thus in lowly manger;
In all our trials born to be our friend.

He knows our need, to our weakness is no stranger,
Behold your King! Before Him lowly bend!
Behold your King, Before Him lowly bend!

Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother;
And in His name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise His holy name.

Christ is the Lord! O praise His Name forever,
His power and glory evermore proclaim.
His power and glory evermore proclaim."

Forgive us for Being Fooled

All attempts to be righteous,

      hopes to attain holiness,

      self-loathing in sinful spurts,

      desires to manage image..

The vanity of this you have showed us full well.

That we can accomplish any of the above is but a folly-

           forgive us for being fooled.

A new day is here, so your mercies say.

Surprise us with the sweetness of your grace,

and teach us to look to you- 

                       you  who sees our broken states,

                       you who hears our fervent prayers,

                       you who continues good work within us.

Our Father, astound us with your faithful goodness.

Teach us not to hope more in our efforts, 

         (and in so to know disappointment)

but to hope in the surety of Jesus Christ within 

         (and in so to know life, peace, rest)

According to your will, Father,

by your work, Spirit,

and through the gift of yourself, Jesus, may this be so.