# New Day 1 > Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God. ### Opening Prayer: *Lord Jesus Christ,* ​ *Thou Son of the Most High, Prince of Peace, be born into our world. Wherever there is war in this world, wherever there is pain, wherever there is loneliness, wherever there is no hope, come, thou long-expected one, with healing in thy wings.* ​ *Holy Child, whom the shepherds and the kings and the dumb beasts adored, be born again. Wherever there is boredom, wherever there is fear of failure, wherever there is temptation too strong to resist, wherever there is bitterness of heart, come, thou blessed one, with healing in thy wings.* ​ *Saviour, be born in each of us who raises his face to thy face, not knowing fully who he is or who thou art, knowing only that thy love is beyond his knowing and that no other has the power to make him whole. Come, Lord Jesus, to each who longs for thee even though he has forgotten thy name. Come quickly. Amen. (The Hungering Dark by Frederick Buechner)* #### Psalm for the Week: Psalm 98 #### Make a Joyful Noise to the Lord #### A Psalm. *98 Oh sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things!His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. 2 The Lord has made known his salvation; he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations. 3 He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.* *4 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises!* *5 Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody!* *6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord! 7 Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who dwell in it!* *8 Let the rivers clap their hands; let the hills sing for joy together9 before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity. #### Scripture for the Day: Isaiah 42:1-9 #### The Lord's Chosen Servant *42 Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. 2 He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; 3 a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. 4 He will not grow faint or be discouraged[a] till he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his law.* *5 Thus says God, the Lord,who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it,who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it:6 “I am the Lord; I have called you[b] in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you;I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations,7 to open the eyes that are blind,to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,from the prison those who sit in darkness.* *8 I am the Lord; that is my name;my glory I give to no other,nor my praise to carved idols.* *9 Behold, the former things have come to pass,and new things I now declare;before they spring forth I tell you of them.”* #### Reading for Reflection: *New is something we all deeply long for. In fact, which one of us is not excited about a new beginning, or a clean slate, or a new lease on life, or a brand new heart? Who among us is not thrilled at the prospect of all the old and the worn out and the broken being done away with in favor of the new, and the fresh, and the whole. But I’ll be the first to admit that as much as I yearn for all things to be made new, I don’t want it to cost me anything. I don’t want it to be a process that is slow and difficult, arduous and long. I want it to just suddenly appear, to be as quick and as easy as possible—like waving some sort of magic wand.* ​ *New birth, however, does not come easy. In fact, the birthing process is often a long and painful one. I guess that’s why they call it labor. And the necessity of this labor is not only true of physical birth, but of spiritual birth as well. That does not mean that we can somehow work our way into some new state of being or of seeing. The new thing, whatever it may be, must be conceived in us, and that is something that we ultimately have no control over—no more control than Mary had as the Spirit came upon her.* ​ *The birthing of this new thing, however, is a different story. The birthing process, the process of bringing this new thing into existence, requires a labor—a labor that is likely filled with much pain and turmoil and struggle. A pain and a turmoil and a struggle that is offset, however, by the overwhelming joy of seeing this new thing being brought into existence—being born either among us or within us. Therefore, it is a labor that is both purposeful and hopeful. It is a labor that, to borrow a phrase from a popular Christmas song, is a labor of love. ~Jim Branch December 2010* #### Reflection and Listening: silent and written #### Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself #### Song for the Week: O Little Town of Bethlehem *O little town of Bethlehem,* *How still we see the lie!* *Above thy deep and dreamless sleep* *The silent stars go by;* *Yet in thy dark streets shineth* *The everlasting Light;* *The hopes and fears of all the years* *Are met in thee to-night.* *For Christ is born of Mary, And gathered all above,* *While mortals sleep, the angels keep* *Their watch of wondering love.* *O morning stars, together* *Proclaim the holy birth!* *And praises sing to God the King,* *And peace to men on earth.* *How silently, how silently,* *The wondrous gift is given!* *So God imparts to human hearts* *The blessings of his heaven.* *No ear may hear his coming,* *But in this world of sin,* *Where meek souls will receive him, still* *The dear Christ enters in* *Where children pure and happy* *Pray to the blessed Child,* *Where misery cries out to thee,* *Son of the mother mild;* *Where charity stands watching And faith holds wide the door,* *The dark night wakes, the glory breaks,* *And Christmas comes once more.* *O holy Child of Bethlehem!* *Descend to us, we pray;* *Cast out our sin and enter in,Be born in us to-day.* *We hear the Christmas angels* *The great glad tidings tell;* *O come to us, abide with us,* *Our Lord Emmanuel!* ### Closing Prayer *O Lord our God, may something new be born in us this day, as well as this season—this season where we celebrate your birth into this cold and cruel world. This season where we rejoice over your amazing arrival to live among us; to give us light and life and hope and peace. We pray this in the Name of Jesus. Amen. (JLB)*