We Have an Old Story to Tell

Calling all who cannot wait any longer for joy, for hope and some good news (even a little).
The time has come, the waiting is over.
Here in this time we have an old story to tell:
one that has been shared over and over for thousands of years,
But still somehow it remains unheard; still radical and risky;
Breaking through into these days of darkness and cold, division and fear;
Interrupting the perpetual stories of violence and loss and the feelings of powerlessness.
Into the errands and errors of our everyday, Christmas arrives not only to comfort but to awaken;
to reassure and also to stir us up as a new life, a life of peace, and justice, and courageous love struggles to be born;
Wondering if we will yet be the ones who make room in our lives and in our world for the refugee, the poor, the plain and messy sweetness of a newborn baby;
If we will take the journey to Bethlehem;
If we will be changed by the presence of a love that meets us where we are in the fields wherever we lay
And calls us forth into a new journey: a braver and bolder life;
Believing that it is not too late for strong and gentle people to win
For compassion and truth to have the final say
For the bright light of hope to shine through
Even on the darkest night.
Come, let us celebrate the good news of Christmas
And let us worship together.