Prayer by Barb Harmon of Independence, Missouri USA
[God] knocked tyrants off their high horses, pulled victims out of the mud.
Based on the Advent Devotion for Families and Households available at https://account-media.s3.amazonaws.com/26072/uploaded/h/0e18630581_1729692500_hope-is-near-advent-2024-23102024.pdf
Open: Light a candle or ring a chime.
Ask: Take a few minutes and ask yourself, “When did I feel hope today or yesterday?”
Listen: God of unfettered hope, we have told the story, we have waited, and now our waiting is almost over. As we kneel again before the manger, to gaze with wonder and awe, bless us with the expectation of fulfillment of the mystery we see. How can it be that this humble and vulnerable child represents the hope of all the ages?
We tiptoe into this sacred space, wanting to observe. But we stay silent, because in our inner beings, we don’t want to awaken this sleeping child. We are fearful of what participation in this mystery might mean for us. What does it mean to put our hope in this child? What does it mean to live into a story where, after the peace and joy of this night, the next words recorded are the massacre of innocent children? And to recognize that as we seek to welcome this child, vulnerable children around the world are, in this very moment, engulfed in suffering? What is our complicity in this suffering? What does it mean to confront our own sin, fear, and tendency to exclude? How can this community act to proclaim, “And on earth, Peace!” when we are still afraid of each other in this place?
God, bless us to hear this story anew, to hear how this story calls us. Be patient with us as we both desire and resist the transforming impulse at work in the depths of our beings. Shape our lives and this community of Christ so that mutually our deepest yearning might be to embody this hope and invitation—Emmanuel, God with us! Nurture in us the ways of peace. Help us live in the tension of that which we cannot comprehend—joy and suffering, peace and conflict, manger and cross. And send us with these words—as both question and hope—that persistently invite us into the mystery of the kingdom already among us: What child is this?
In the name of Jesus, the embodiment of hope and peace, Amen.
Breathe
The season of Advent reminds us that even as we wait for the birth of Christ in our lives and world, God is always with us. Right here, right now—wherever we are and with the ones we love. Take a deep breath and breathe in the presence of God.
Respond
How can you bring hope to others today?
Presence Prayer
Set a timer for 30–60 seconds. Be quiet and just be present with God in the silence. Just being with God and letting God be with us is enough sometimes.
Today’s Prayer for Peace
Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.