Ask people to describe the meaning of Christmas and they’ll likely talk about a celebration of love, a time of giving and charity, and a call for peace on Earth. So why do so many, even in the faith community, exclude almost all of God’s creation from His most precious gifts? Every heart deserves to share in the peace and love of Christmastime as well as in His blessings all year round—so PETA LAMBS has created a free, downloadable Christmas card featuring a beautiful prayer of hope for animals.
“A Christmas Prayer for Animals”
By Jenny Moxham
As Christmas approaches,
Dear God up above,
Please fill every heart
With compassion and love.
Fill all with the knowledge
That piglets and geese
And turkeys are also
Entitled to peace.
Please let people see
That to harm and to kill,
Just doesn’t make sense
At a time of goodwill.
This Christmas, dear God,
Please answer my prayer,
May love for all creatures
Abound everywhere.
God tells us throughout the Bible that He loves His animals and knows every one of them (Psalm 50:10-11). Humans—not God—exalted themselves over the rest of creation (Ecclesiastes 3:18-21). So as we thank God for sending His only Son to show love to the world, it’s worth remembering that Jesus had a particular fondness for those whom everyone else had rejected, marginalized, or oppressed.
This sweet, simple prayer by Christian poet Jenny Moxham is a gentle reminder that we were created in God’s likeness and instructed to be stewards of the Earth so that the whole of creation can serve God according to His plan (Psalm 148). Humans have broken that covenant, but Christmas is a time for reconciliation.
On that first Noel, a single star pointed the way. Each of us can do the same.
