PRAYERS FOR FIRST SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS

PRAYERS FOR FIRST SUNDAY AFTER CHRISTMAS 

Isaiah 63:7-9

New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

God’s Mercy Remembered

7 I will recount the gracious deeds of the Lord,

    the praiseworthy acts of the Lord,

because of all that the Lord has done for us,

    and the great favor to the house of Israel

that he has shown them according to his mercy,

    according to the abundance of his steadfast love.

8 For he said, “Surely they are my people,

    children who will not deal falsely”;

and he became their savior

9     in all their distress.

It was no messenger or angel

    but his presence that saved them;

in his love and in his pity he redeemed them;

    he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.

We praise you

O God

for being a presence in our lives

not just a song in the night

We have been seduced before

by fly-by-night choirs

of happiness and success

with no down payment

and easy terms

You came as a Babe

but you died as a thief

from a manger in Bethlehem

to a cross up on Calvary

You came not as a burden 

for us to suffer 

but one who would carry our burdens

upon your broad shoulders 

You came not to condemn us

because of our sins

but to cleanse us our stains

to be whiter than snow

You came not to scorn us

as pitiful ornery children

but love us unreservedly

as your sons and daughters 

We praise you

O God

for being a presence in our lives

not just a song in the night

Hallelujah 

Amen

Matthew 2:13-23

13 Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” 14 Then Joseph[a] got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, 15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, “Out of Egypt I have called my son.”

The Massacre of the Infants

16 When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men,[b] he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men.[c] 17 Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:

18 “A voice was heard in Ramah,

    wailing and loud lamentation,

Rachel weeping for her children;

    she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.”

Can you hear her

Can you hear Rachel

weeping for her children?

The cupboard is bare

The pantry is empty

nothing to put on their plates

to fill their bellies

The closet is free

of shirts and skirts

void of anything new

to dress her children

Can you hear her

Can you hear Rachel

weeping for her children?

The ER is full and crowded

as she holds her baby

sick and crying

in need of care and healing

The shelter is cold and noisy

full of other

mothers and children 

with no where to lay their heads

Can you hear her

Can you hear Rachel

weeping for her children?

Wall Street cannot hear

for all the shouting and buying

Walmart cannot hear 

for all the shouting and buying

Amazon cannot hear

for all the clicking and buying

Best Buy cannot hear

for all the clicking and buying

Can you hear her

Can you hear Rachel

weeping for her children?

Forgive us Lord Jesus

and give us ears to hear

and eyes to see

To hear the hungry children's cry

and feed them

To see the the ill clad children

and clothe them

To hear the sick children

and heal them

To see the homeless children

and house them

Can you hear her

Can you hear Rachel

weeping for her children?

Help us Lord Jesus

To hear them

To love them

To care for them

To hear and love and care

for Rachel's children

for all God's children

Amen