Lord, our God and Father give to many to all, and to us as well, that we may celebrate Christmas like this: that in complete thankfulness, utter humpty, and then complete joy and confidence we may come to the one whom you have sent and in whom you yourself have come to us. Clean out the many things in us that, now that the hour has come, have become impossible for us, can no longer belong to us, may, must, and will fall away form us, by virtue of your beloved Son, our Lord and Savior, entering into our midst and creating order. Have mercy also on all those who either do not yet or do not fully know you and your kingdom, who perhaps once knew everything and have either forgotten, misunderstood, or even denied it! ….. We thank you that we are permitted to know that we do not pray and will never pray to you in vain. We thank you that you have let your light rise, that it shines in the darkness, and that the darkness will not overcome it. We thank you that you are God, and that we may be your people. Amen.

–Karl Barth