# New Day 4 > 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: Luke 2:21-35 *21 And at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.* *Jesus Presented at the Temple* *22 And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.”* *25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. 27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, 28 he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,* *29 “Lord, now you are letting your servant[a] depart in peace, according to your word; 30 for my eyes have seen your salvation31 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.”* *33 And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed 35 (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”* #### Reading for Reflection: *You *know that something totally new, truly unique, is happening within you. It is clear that something in you is dying and something is being born. You must remain attentive, calm, and obedient to your best intuitions. You keep asking yourself, “What about the ways I have done and said things in the past? What about my many options in the future?” Suddenly you realize that these questions are no longer meaningful. In the new life you are entering, they won’t be raised anymore. The stage sets that have for so long provided a background for your thoughts, words, and actions are slowly being rolled away, and you know they won’t come back.* ​ *You feel a strange sadness. An enormous loneliness emerges, but you are not frightened. You feel vulnerable but safe at the same time. Jesus is where you are, and you can trust that he will show you the next steps. (The Inner Voice of Love by Henri J. M. Nouwen)* #### 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)*