Beautiful | A Responsive Reading

Beautiful is the newborn king.

Beautiful is the baby. Tiny feet. Tiny hands. Softest skin. Full of life.

Beautiful is the child who will know the pain of walking the walk in his own name.

Beautiful are those feet that will blister from the journey to brighter days.

Beautiful is the builder who’s craft will build up more than furniture with his hands.

Beautiful are those hands that will work and live with and within the community

Beautiful is the one who will be whipped and bruised.

Beautiful is that skin that will swell and absorb our pain

Beautiful is the pouring out that will come in the darkest hour.

Beautiful is the blood that shows us the cost of compassion and love.

Beautiful as he is and beautiful as he will be.

Beautiful is the newborn king. Tiny feet. Tiny hands. Softest skin. Full of life.

This liturgical resources was written for a project through Discipleship Ministries of The United Methodist Church. I was invited to write this content for Year B of the Revised Common Lectionary as one of a group of "Millennial/Centennial Voices from the Africana Diaspora." This responsive reading is one of three pieces published for Christmas Day in December 2020, inspired by Isaiah 52:7-10.

Of the collection, I wrote: "Beautiful" a responsive reading, "Prayer of Thanksgiving," and "We Are More That What Is In Front Of Us" a sermonic sending forth for a dying church. I have published them seperately here on the blog since the originally published URL for the post from Discipleship Ministries as follows is no longer working on their website: https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/articles/millennial-centennial-voices-from-the-africana-diaspora://www.umcdiscipleship.org/articles/prayers-for-a-time-of-pandemic