a christmas prayer...

God of irony
God of truth
in the advent and birth
of your helpless babe
help unsettle
our surest beliefs
topple our comforting idols
our best intentions
and raze our religious temples to the ground...

You who speak to us
through a baby’s ceaseless crying
his soft hand clutching at our fingers
bothering us through the night
we are baffled like clueless parents
insomnia-stricken
by Your revelation
a restless Child, such trouble in our hands
always a little more
than we could understand
a little more
than we could manage...

This Christmas
I say
“Be ye never complete;
be ever learning,
desiring and longing...
God is never found in perfection.
accept your brokenness,
those dark nights
those meaningless silences...
take all that life throws at you...
and let the chips fall
where they may;
trust Grace over karma...”

This is your life
His own flesh,
His own blood...
this Christmas
make us human,
make us your own...