Hello, I’m Daniel Westfall on the channel “Pray With Me”.

Do you tire of Christmas? Every year the same story, the same songs, the same curse of commercialism. Why do we come back to Christmas every year? Are we stuck in a time warp? 

An Anglican prayer for the third Sunday in Advent realigns our perspective on Christmas. It says,  
  God of power and mercy,
  you call us once again to celebrate the coming of your Son.
  Remove those things which hinder our love of you,
  that when he comes again, he may find us waiting in awe and wonder.

I think we come back to Christmas not because the story has changed, but because we have changed. We are older. We’ve lived through another year of difficult relationships, debts that arrived uninvited, jobs where we tread water. Some of us have experienced new joy in life’s twists and turns. 

At Christmas we can bring this year, we can bring our current situation, to the Christmas story. We can hear the angels sing into our lives. We can journey to the manger and look again at the child who restores our joy and points us to the hope of salvation. 

As the Anglican prayer says, Remove those things which hinder our love of you. That’s the gift the angels and shepherds and wise men give. An opportunity to look with new eyes at the baby in the manger, who will renew our love and strengthen our resolve.

Let’s pray. 

O Father, the third advent candle is hope. 

May we who live Christmas on automatic pilot, hear fresh words of hope.
May we who are earthbound listen to the angels’ song.
May we who are melancholy sing carols of joy.
May we who are lonely find companionship at the manger. 
May we who fear death hear the promise of life.
May we who are rich and thankful share the goodness with others.

This Christmas, help us to take our life and prayers to the manger. Help us worship the child the shepherds found. Help us see the star of promise. Help us travel with the wise men to Bethlehem. 

Amen.

I’m Daniel, on the channel “Pray with Me”.  

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