O Christmas saints, come gather here
in my Bethlehem:
let the miracle unfold in me.
Come, Gabriel, interrupting angel,
and tell the innocent Virgin within me
that she shall bear holiness into the world.
Come, dreams, and haunt me with the courage
to marry the blessing I would spurn.
Come, tender Joseph, and walk with me
along this road of not knowing.
Come, natal star, build your nest in my darkness,
and guide me to seek, and keep seeking.
Mark my life with your promise
that beauty may be found here.
Come, magi, from your wanderings,
and teach me to follow;
teach me to behold.
Come heavenly choir, breathing wonder:
Astonish my routine. Awaken me.
Send me into this village
looking, looking.
Come, shepherds and all who are shabby and shady,
and show me how to recognize glory
swaddled in the mundane.
Come, Holy Child, and be alive in me,
wordlessly, helplessly
drawing out all my love.
O Christmas miracle,
come to the the little shed of my life;
enfold me in your strangeness
and make me a house of wonder.
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Copyright © Steve Garnaas-Holmes
Unfolding Light
www.unfoldinglight.net