The stillness of anticipation cradles tiny Bethlehem,

silent now in preparation for the miracle of birth.

All creation, hushed, expectant, waits a baby's cry:

born in all simplicity at the turning point of time.

Be silent, earth, before the mystery

of the long-awaited birth.

All the hopes of human history -

longings, yearnings, dreams, desires -

gathered in a single moment, focussed in a child:

born in all simplicity at the turning point of time.

A nascent star, in celebration, blazes over Bethlehem;

crucible of all creation, where the human and divine

are refined in simple beauty in a new-born child:

born in all simplicity at the turning point of time.