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Come,
Immanuel
Come,
Immanuel, God with us to be.
Come down from paradise and occupy
the dirty stable of humanity.
Come and live rough, as we do: come and die.
Come
and be lonely as an orphaned child.
Come to where grief is harvested and stored.
Come to where empty, agèd minds run wild.
Come to the hospice and the cancer ward.
Come,
flee from tyrants as a refugee.
Come, be betrayed by those you counted friends.
Come and be tortured with no amnesty.
Come as the means to justify all ends.
Come
and be broken like a Christmas toy.
Come, be completely human—then we’ll know
your sorrow may bring hope of lasting joy
and God above is God with us below.
Written
for the carol service at
In the second stanza the word "cancer" was replaced in 2021/2 by "covid".
© Godfrey Rust 2003, godfrey@wordsout.co.uk. See here for permissions for use.
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