"Your True Self"--A Prayer for December 25, 2020

"Your True Self"--A Prayer for December 25, 2020 (Christmas Day)

(Our final prayer in this Advent and Christmas series....)


Don’t let us miss the hints you have been dropping, God,
in the story we have heard so many times.

The borrowed food trough, the grubby night-shift strangers,
the poor parents, the journey as a refugee,
the unexpected appearance of foreigners with gifts on bended knee:
help us to see these are not mere accidents,
but glimpses of how you love,
signposts of whom you include in your embrace,
evidence of your policy to side with those left out.

Train our eyes to see you in light of this motley crew,
and to see the world through
such newly clarified vision.

Enable us to see
the choice of shepherds
over Caesars
as a clue to your agenda,
a hallmark of your Reign,
and a window to your own
divine and wondrous heart.

You keep showing us your true Self at Christmas. Help us see.