Today’s thought is by Frederick Buechner
It is impossible to conceive how different things would have turned out if that birth had not happened whenever, wherever, however it did … for millions of people who have lived since, the birth of Jesus made possible not just a new way of understanding life but a new way of living it. It is a truth that, for twenty centuries, there have been untold numbers of men and women who, in untold numbers of ways, have been so grasped by the child who was born, so caught up in the message he taught and the life he lived, that they have found themselves profoundly changed by their relationship with him.
Let our hearts adore you for ever, O Lord, that, waking or sleeping, we may never cease to worship you. May your angels keep watch over us day and night, and may the praise from our lips mingle with the songs of heaven. Amen.
Gregory of Nazianzus (329-389)
Almighty, life-giving and sustaining God, thank you for accompanying us to this moment. We praise you for your graceful strength, forgiving, reviving and encouraging us. We bless you for your love, so great that you can cope with our weakness, selfishness and wandering. We place our hands and hearts in yours this day, praying that you will be glorified by us. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.