Emmanuel.
God, You are with us, in the thick of our reality –
              The joys, the sorrows, the seemingly mundane, the all of it.

You saw us, the beloved work of Your hands, in need,
              And You came to be among us.
You, the Infinite One, came as an infant,
              A human, entirely dependent.

You came entrusted to Mary and to Joseph, two humble servants of God.
You came, a Light in the darkness, in the most unexpected of guises in the most lowly of circumstances.
The Prince of Peace laid in a manger.
You remind us that the way is through humility, community, love.

In Your coming among us this day, let the glory, praise and honor we render You overflow our lives.

Continue to fashion us, we pray, as

bearers of the Light,

harbingers of hope,

heralders of the Good News,

a people of humility, of love, and of peace,

a people You recognize and claim as Your own.

All glory and praise to You, God with us, this day and all days. Amen.