Prayer for the Joy of Advent

God of joy,

A cacophony of voices
demand our daily attention,
some calling us to
the bitter resignation
of despair, others, to the
sweet, but empty, vanity
of self-righteousness.

Joy, though, speaks with
a quiet and unassuming voice,
much like a babe born
to poor parents and
laid in a manger to sleep.

Cleanse my heart
of the cynicism that
blocks the empty noise
of the season,
at the expense
of the possibility
of hearing the joy
of Advent.

Amen