The following was posted by Peter Bush, Moderator of the 2017 General Assembly, at https://www.facebook.com/groups/2346973826/?multi_permalinks=10155969747183827¬if_id=1513873246848163¬if_t=group_activity.
Karl Barth’s prayers at Christmas have become a staple of my preparation for Christmas — and I confess that I have sometimes used his prayers on Christmas Eve in worship. Here is one I particularly appreciate:
Lord our God, you have humbled yourself, that we may be exalted. You became poor, that we become rich. You came to us, that we may come to you. You became a human being like us, that we may be drawn into participation in your eternal life: All of this from your free, undeserved grace; all of this is your dear Son, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
We are gathered here, in view of this mystery and wonder, to pray to you, praise you, and to proclaim and hear your Word. But we know that we cannot do these things under our own power, that it is you who free us to lift our hearts and thoughts to you. So we ask you to come now into our midst! Show us and open to us the path to you through your Holy Spirit, so that we may see with our own eyes your light that has come into the world, in order that our lives may indeed be witnesses to you. Amen.