Welcome to the Prayers of Rest podcast.

I'm your host, Ashrita Chuchu, and this Advent season, we're praying for joy together, focusing on some traditional and non-traditional Christmas passages.

So take a deep breath and quiet your heart as we become aware of God's loving presence around us and within us.

Today's passage comes from Matthew chapter 2, verses 9 to 11.

The wise men went their way, and the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem.

It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was.

And when they saw the star, they were filled with joy.

They entered the house and saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down

and worshipped him. Let's begin by reciting God's goodness. Oh God, you are so creative

that you would use even the stars in the sky to declare your glory

and to guide people into your presence and to experience your salvation.

There is nothing you can't do. All of creation is held in your hand, and you so often reach out to pursue us,

to draw us to yourself through such creative means. Even the stars declare your glory

and serve your purposes. So as the wise men saw the star and were filled with joy and chased it down to find Jesus,

so Lord, we also, this Christmas season, we want to experience that great joy at Jesus' birth. Thank you that you are the God who works today

even as you worked 2,000 years ago. And thank you that you are at work even now in our lives

and in our families and in our churches this Christmas season.

So take a moment now to praise our creative God who is at work in the world and is at work in your

life and will use such creative ways to draw your heart to himself. Let's continue now by expressing our neediness.

God, as we think about these foreign wise men, these people, these astrologers who weren't even

part of your people.

They weren't even Israelites.

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