Lord of light,
Lord of love,
Who rested not content in darkless, unblemished, eternal glory
Without the people You created:
People who traded Your bright fellowship for the darkling bondage of iniquity.
In Christmastide we remember and celebrate
The mystery of infinite, omniscient, omnipotent Deity
Weaving Himself into double helix,
Pouring Himself into a single human cell
In the confines of a virgin's womb.
While no less God,
You took upon Yourself the finitude of human form,
The patience of gestation,
The trauma of birth in blood and water.
Your voice--which shatters cedars and shakes wilderness,
stripping forests bare in power and splendor--
Cried out, hungrily inhaling the oxygen You spoke into being.
You, Savior, submitted to swaddling;
In humility, You gave Yourself to be diapered, held, rocked.
You who hold up the world by the Word of Your power
Condescended to months unable to hold up Your own head,
Immortal clothed in epidermis of mortality.
And why?
For love of Your enemies,
Sinners, rebels, reprobates,
Who deserve only wrath.
You entered our world,
Into every aspect of humanity but sin,
Lived the righteous life we could not,
Died the criminal's death we deserved,
Atoned for sin,
Conquered death,
Begat us to a living hope
Through Your resurrection from the dead.
Being fully human, You were a suitable substitute for scoundrel sinners
Such as I.
Being fully God, You were a sufficient substitute for all sinners
Who call on You in faith
(Such as I),
Trusting in Your name,
Jesus,
Savior,
Anointed One.
You took up our tears that we might find joy.
You took up our mourning that we might dance.
You took up our sickness that we might be whole.
You took up our hunger that we might be satiated.
You took up our sins that we might wear the garb of Your righteousness.
You took our judgment that we might receive grace.
You laid aside the glory of Sonship that children of wrath might be adopted sons of the Most High.
You enfleshed the Old Covenant and inaugurated the New,
Implanting new hearts that beat the rhythm of Your law.
Christ, our Passover, You gave Yourself for us
As priest and sacrifice.
Grant us grace to walk in forgiven freedom
Under the bright shelter of Your love and mercy,
Peace and grace,
Loving You who first loved us
And loved us to the end.
All praise to You, King Jesus,
For coming to shatter our darkness with Your sunrise from on high.
Come soon, Lord Jesus.
Amen.
