Jesus, as we enter again
into the odd story of your unusual arrival,
we feel your love in the extravagant provision
and minute detail of your gifts,
crafted and tailored so we may know
that not only are we loved,
but we are known and loved 

We see your love in action
in the practice of forgiveness,
channeled through an over-the-top
care package from a friend,
in an unanticipated vantage from which
to love our adopted hometown,
and in that most intense form of grace
that visits us at our most unlovely

Yours is a love that reflects
off of objects and others
to brighten a room,
that makes itself heard
in the rustling of the leaves,
a love tasted in cinnamon rolls
and ice cream

Awaken us to our role
as astonished agents
of your astonishing love
in such unlikely places
as our political divisions
and complex relationships
including our relationships with ourselves

We are God’s people.
We light this candle
as a sign of the love of God,
who comes to walk in our shoes
and makes a home among us.
O come, Immanuel

We gather here today in response to God’s love

that feeds our souls like a good meal with friends,  

filling our minds and hearts and senses

until our best selves overflow.

Photo by icon0.com on Pexels.com

Despite the selfish demands and betrayals of love we have suffered.

Despite the impatient and half-hearted attempts at love we have offered.

Despite our flawed definitions and our misplaced affections,

We come.

We come because of all these things, believing

in a love that is bigger than us, and better;

that is offered to us as we are,

even as it is beyond our scope to comprehend as we are.

Lord help our unbelief.

We gather in love

and in need of God’s perfect love.

A love that has been through everything

and come out stronger.

A love that knows and accepts us so deeply

that the stranger no longer poses a threat.

A love to grow into.

The gentle touch of the sun on our upturned faces

Its soft warmth on our backs when it is no more

and no less than the light by which we see.

A faint trickle of water music

heard throughout life’s song-rich forest

telling us that wherever we go,

we will never go thirsty.

We are God’s people.

We light this candle as a sign of the love of God,

who comes to walk in our shoes

and make a home among us.

O come, Immanuel. 

Composed by and for the American Church in Paris community, the work of the people to the glory of God.