Sunday, November 29, 2009

A Prayer for the First Sunday of Advent 2009

O God,

We praise you today as the God who comes.

We praise you as the God who came to this world in the baby Jesus born all those years ago in Bethlehem--the baby who grew up to live a life of humble obedience, who died on the cross for our sins, who rose from the dead on the third day, and who ascended to your right hand from where he will come to judge the living and the dead.

We praise you as the God who will come to this world again when the crucified, resurrected, and ascended Christ returns.

We praise you as the God who comes to us in our world right here and right now—as the God who comes to us in our lostness to find us, in our stubbornness to break us, in our pride to humble us, in our sickness to heal us, in our hardness to soften us, in our fear to comfort us, in our anxiety to calm us, and in our brokenness to make us whole.

We praise you as the God who comes to us in the Holy Spirit and in the Holy Scriptures.

We praise you as the God who comes to us in each other.

We praise you as the God who comes to us in the lives of those who need us.

Help us, O God, to look for you longingly, to receive you gladly, to share you willingly, and to follow you courageously.

Help us, O God, to celebrate your coming, to expect your coming, and to live in light of your coming.

In the name of Jesus Christ, who came, who comes, and who will come—Amen.

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