The Lord be with you.
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts.
We lift them up to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
It is right to give our thanks and praise.
Glory to You, in the highest, oh God! It is indeed right to give You all thanks and praise.
For in the beginning You made Light. And in this season You give us light that proclaims PEACE – so we pray for the most war-torn places here and around the world knowing You are in our midst as the Prince of Peace to rule over all nations,
You give us light that proclaims HOPE – so we pray expecting You to be with us as we remember Your radical breaking-in to the world as a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes,
You give us light that proclaims LOVE – so we pray that all come to know Your forever-beating heart that summons all Your children to this table,
You give us light that proclaims JOY – so we pray that this table reminds us of the feast that is to come as sure as You are ever-coming into our midst in glory.
Glory to You, in the highest, oh God! We join our voices this day with the saints of every time and place and all the hearts around the world who are watching and waiting and singing to the glory of Your most holy name…
Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might.
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest.
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest.
Glory to You in the highest, oh God! And glory to the Christ Child who wondrously entered the world through the humblest of means…
To engage with the most vulnerable,
To question authority,
To love radically,
To feast with the outcast – breaking His own body and pouring His own blood proclaiming Your Kingdom come.
Glory to You in the highest, oh Christ, defeating death and inviting us again to the table to taste and see that You are good!
Come, Holy Spirit, enter this space and enter us – your people, that all things ordinary might dazzle in this Holy Meal. Fill us with Your body and blood, empower us with Your peace and hope and love and joy that we might go out from this place into Your world proclaiming Your wondrous entry into the world!
Glory to You in the highest, Oh God, for we have gathered at Your table that we might see Your light. In the name of the Most Holy Child we pray saying, Our Father…
Submitted by Rev. Lindsay Conrad, First Presbyterian Church, Ann Arbor, MI
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