Words of Light and Hope from Sue Page

Words of Light and Hope     Sunday December15th 2024   Advent 3

Christ’s Coming

God did not wait till the world was ready, Till nations were at peace. God came when the nations were unsteady, And prisoners cried for release.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             God did not wait for the perfect time. God came when the need was deep and great. God dined with sinners in all their grime, Turned water into wine.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         God did not wait Till hearts were pure. In joy God came To a tarnished world of sin and doubt; To a world like ours, of anguished shame          God came, and God’s light would not go out. God came to a world which did not mesh,                                                                                                   To heal its tangles, shield it scorn. In the mystery of the Word made flesh The Maker of the stars was born.                                                                We cannot wait till the world is sane To raise our songs with joyful voice, For to share our greed, to touch our pain, God came with Love! Rejoice! Rejoice!                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Madeleine Engels

But the Bethlehem star may lead me To the sight of Him who freed me From the self that I have been. Make me pure, Lord; Thou are holy; Make me meek, Lord, Thou wert lowly; Now beginning, and always, Now begin, on Christmas Day Gerard Manley Hopkins.

Teach us, Father God, how to listen to one another, So that we might discover Your wisdom; How to serve alongside one another, How to receive from one another, So that we might reflect Your glory: How to pray with one another, So that we might grow Your kingdom, As        co-disciples of Jesus On our journeys of faith. Amen

The Miracle by by Georg Johannes Gick:                                                                                                                                                                When all the winds were mild, Mary came to me apart and laid the Holy Child here inside my heart. My heart was made the manger, and my body was the stall. And now no man is stranger: my life goes out to all, To bring to each of them this Child of heaven’s light, to let them enter in, like flames of candles to the holy night.