1 At the census in the city, at the crossing place of life, where the homeless and abandoned share the scars of human strife; mid the rubble and the ruins shedding God's prophetic light see, a star is softly shining through the horror of the night. 2 In the cross of shifting shadows see a mother and her child, see the wetness of his features, freshly born, so not yet filed. In a world of cold statistics yet another mouth to feed, for the parents' love holds tension with a calling, crying need. 3 So from Bethlehem in history to this present place and time, God has entered human anguish, sung in tune to human rhyme; yes, the baby that we welcome, yes, the Christ of Palestine, are as one, we seal remembrance in a feast of bread and wine. [signature of love's design.]* 4 For the ruin of the manger, this prefig'ring of the cross, offers Christ as our relation in our chaos and our loss, puts the Christ into the present, places God in human hands, tests our loving and our living here in this and every land. *for use when there is no communion Andrew E Pratt (born 1948) Words © 2003 Stainer & Bell Ltd, London, England copyright@stainer.co.uk . Please include any reproduction for local church use on your CCL Licence returns. All wider and any commercial use requires prior application to Stainer & Bell Ltd Metre: 8 7 8 7 D Tunes: BETHANY (Smart); ABBOTS LEIGH