For this Christmas I offer two prayers; one very ancient, the other more modern. They both capture the magnitude of what God has given us.
What shall I say! And how shall I describe this Birth to you? For this wonder fills me with astonishment. The Ancient of days has become an infant. He Who sits upon the sublime and heavenly Throne, now lies in a manger. And He Who cannot be touched, Who is simple, without complexity, and incorporeal, now lies subject to the hands of men. He Who has broken the bonds of sinners, is now bound by an infant’s bands. But He has decreed that ignominy shall become honor, infamy be clothed with glory, and total humiliation the measure of His Goodness.
-John Chrysostom
What the nativity scene dimly lit on our mantels fails to capture for us is the defiance, the seditiousness of the Christ Peter knew well. The placid figurines leave us wondering why anyone would want to kill this precious child. Remember though asleep on that hay is the king of kings come to do through his people what no caesar could: to bow every knee, erase every border, destroy every flag, save every soul, free every captive, feed every stomach, open every eye, right every injustice – and do so by giving up his own life, not by taking another’s.
Wonderful Counselor. Mighty God. Everlasting Father. Prince of Peace.
-Shaun Groves
Immanuel, God is with us!
Praise Be to God
