A CHRISTMAS PRAYER . . .

A CHRISTMAS PRAYER
FOR THOSE WHO DON'T GO TO CHURCH MUCH

Lord, I don’t go to church much.
I don’t go at all…well, I go at Christmas.
I’m home then.
I feel drawn to it.
I like the Christmas Eve service,
the coolness of the air.
I feel like a kid again…It’s surreal.

I know folks make fun of people like me.
What can I say? I’ve drifted…but there is a pull back.
Are You saying something to me?

I hear something in the sermon, sometimes,
but mostly it’s the music and the candles.
What is it about those candles?
And the darkness?
The darkness…it’s the light, I suppose.
Light and darkness.

I know about light and darkness.
I live in both.
I’ve got some of both in me.
I’m basically a good person, but I struggle…
I know about light and darkness.
But I want to be closer to the light.
I want to light that candle and sing those songs.

And in the dark street shineth, the everlasting light.

I would like to live in that light, Lord.
I would like to meet Jesus.
Maybe what I’m saying is that I would like to be born again...
maybe that’s what Christmas really means.

-- Ken Carter, Senior Pastor of Providence United Methodist Church, Charlotte, North Carolina. With acknowledgement of authorship, this poem may be reprinted in church bulletins and newsletters.


#2218