“The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks about earthly things … He who God has sent speaks the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure.”
My precious Lord; the creator of all that I perceive, and beyond, each night as I close my day I gaze at your heavens with wonder. I turn my eyes to the vastness of your domain and stand in awe of you, my God. I try to fathom the immeasurable bounty of Life-Sustaining gifts of wisdom which you have poured out to your people down through the generations. And I marvel at the greatest of this gifts; that of your son, Jesus, whose birth I wait to celebrate again this Christmas.
As I take this in, O God, I also confess that I, nor your beloved children across the globe, have received and embraced these gifts as we should. The wisdom and warnings of the prophets we, too often, have ignored. The ones who came before, who were the great examples of faith, are but faint recollections in our minds. Even the One whose birth we claim to celebrate each Christmas is often no more than a comfortable bedtime story for us, surrounded by presents, wrapping and blinking lights.
As I fix my eyes upon the stars and moon and passing clouds again this night, and ponder your presence through the ages, I seek your forgiveness for not taking that wisdom from above and living it each day here, for your glory and honor. During these remaining days of this Advent, I pray that you will awaken in me the understanding and desires of the One who comes from above as the Christmas Child – as the Light of the world. May the words of the Christ-child fill me and shape me. May the gift of the Holy Spirit – present in the heavens, and at the manger, and even here in this place and moment now – fill me each day, that my life may be a tribute to you, my Lord and my God.
Amen.
Rev. Michael Kirchhoff
based on John 3:31-36
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