Prayers of Intercession for Epiphany. If you would like to make use of them, please do.

Loving God,
today as we remember the magi,
who had the faith to follow the star that led them to you,
and the wisdom to recognise you and worship;
we also remember King Herod,
whose fear and anger led to slaughter and horror and despair.

Right in the middle of the Christmas Story is death;
hard on the heels of joy comes sorrow.

So today we pray for all those whose Christmases have been hard:
the sick, and those in mourning;
asylum seekers, refugees, and all who have fled their homes;
people locked up in camps and prisons;
those for whom Christmas Day was just another day of hunger and homelessness;
those who have lost houses, animals, livelihoods, or loved ones in the current fires;
those whose Christmas Day was spent in fear and danger;
those who were alone, without family, at Christmas;
and those whose experience of family has been abuse, rather than love.

Loving God,
the story of your birth contains both darkness and light,
both hatred and love,
both sorrow and joy;
and so we know that we can ask you to take it all,
all that darkness and hatred and sorrow,
and transform it into light and love and joy,
as you cradle us all in the palms of your hands.
Amen.