A CHRISTMAS TIME PRAYER FOR COUNTRY LIVING

Lord Jesus Christ, when, 
on a winter's night I look up through the clear air at the stars, 
I can be very close to You 
and to Your native Bethlehem. 
It was at night that You first came to this earth. 
It was under the same stars that now gleam in this night sky 
that Mary first held You in her arms. 
It was by the faint light of these stars 
still shining tonight that the shepherds found their way to the stable, 
and discovered You, 
as the angels had said they would, 
lying in a manger. 
Dear Christ, 
it is especially at Christmas time 
that I see and understand how close You are 
to those who live on the land. 
We have so many reminders of You! 
The stars and moon at night and the sun by day,
the same stars under which You were born; 
the same moon that shone that night on Bethlehem; 
the same sun that brightened Your first days on earth. 
The stable, and the farm animals 
that shared their quarters and their warmth with You, their creator. 
The sheep and the shepherds that came to adore You, 
rough men, but good, truthful, honest, and sincere. 
O Jesus, Son of the everlasting God, 
You are so wonderfully made one of us at Christmas time! 
You are our God, 
but You are our Brother, too. 
You are our King, 
but You come as a helpless little baby, 
longing for our love. 
Help us today and always to see You 
in all those with whom we come in contact. 
Let us never forget Your own instruction, 
that whatever we do for the least of those around us, 
we do for You. 
Help us always to serve You in the generous, 
selfless spirit of this season, 
and we shall then be real Christians, 
more and more like You, other Christs.

Amen.