Also I am finishing off a series on the Olivet discourse and preaching on the parable of the Sheep and the Goats. So I have wanted to include some of that into this prayer of thanksgiving.
As I sat down to write this prayer I looked out my office window and saw a group of people walking down the road in Santa hats all trimmed with tinsel... obviously there is a Office Christmas event happening down the road. It for me epitomised the way people rejoice this festive season. I also noticed (sadly for the first time) a Pohutukawa tree in the corner of the church car park all decked out in its crimson bloom. The Pohutukawa Tree is our native Christmas tree, it blossoms in our southern summer Christmas. It usually grows on the coast and in New Zealand Christmas usually revolves round summer holidays... in fact if I may make a really bad joke the closest most Kiwi's get to acknowledging the incarnation is when almost the whole nation jumps in our cars and heads off to the beach. That is if the weather doesn't pack it in. Those things remind me of the rejoicing in God's creation... Yes I am aware of a cyclone hitting Samoa at the moment and we will pray for those effected in our prayers of intercession. Nature by itself cannot tell us God is good.
Then of course we move into rejoicing because of Christ. His birth long promised, his kingdom proclaimed and what they means, his death and Resurrection and the sending of the Holy Spirit... and the joy that comes from seeing Jesus revolution of grace shared to the least in simple acts of kindness and mercy.
This prayer is my attempt at painting a word picture of all those things... not wanting to simply engage peoples logical mind but inviting them to envisage what those things mean in their own lives.. almost a guided meditation and in that to rejoice before God.
Santa
hats and tinsel trims
Office
shouts
Mince
pies and Christmas cake
Cards
from far away friends
School
year ends
Finding
gifts that say we care
The
festive season has begun
Rejoice,
rejoice again I say rejoice
Pohutukawa
blooms
Clear
blue skies (hope they stay)
Twinkling
seas
Ocean
breeze
Cool
leafy shade
Cicada
chirp
Beaches beckon
Rejoice,
rejoice again I say rejoice
Not
the wrath of an angry God
Rather
we behold his mercy and grace
A promise
fulfilled
A child
is given
A light
in the dark
Glory
to God in Highest heaven
Peace
on earth on all whom his favour rests.
Rejoice,
rejoice again I say rejoice
A new
kingdom come
Good
news for the poor
Liberty
for the captive
Sight
for the blind
The
oppressed go free
A time
of jubilee
God
sets all things right
Rejoice,
rejoice again I say rejoice
Died
and rose again
Sins
forgiven
The
slate whipped clean
Restored
and made whole
New
life in abundance
Spirit
given
God
dwells within
Rejoice,
rejoice and again I say Rejoice
In response
mercy shown
A glass
of water given
The
hungry feed
The
stranger welcomed in
The
naked clothed
The
sick tended
The
prisoner included
Rejoice,
rejoice again I say rejoice
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