At the news of Your footsteps drawing near,
all heaven and earth burst into songs of joy.
Across this harsh, frozen land—this empty field—
You come again this year, barefoot,
over our thorn bushes and wilderness.

To those who have never loved,
to those who have never been loved,
to those who have never spoken the language of love,
to those who have never dreamed of the face of love,
even to those who have never known who You are—
come, O Baby Jesus.

You who come from afar to restore Your image within us,
come in the song of new shoots rising boldly
from the land of death.
Carry hope to the souls crying out in despair,
“Now it is impossible.”
You who burn Your own body upon dying lamps
and come as light!

May the blazing grace of Your love
open a bright highway for us who wander lost.
With Your touch, let the truth of heaven—
covered by greed and sin—
shine clear as crystal.
Raise up our tombs of living death
into life.

Upon our brothers and sisters in North Korea,
starving as even roots and bark are frozen;
upon political leaders in the South,
who consume alone what belongs to the people
and are bound by cords of their own making;
upon the mothers and fathers of Gwangju,
heavy with unresolved grief;
upon the so-called peace accords of Bosnia,
peace without reconciliation;
upon our youth cast aside in immigrant life,
imprisoned behind bars;
upon Korean daughters in AIDS camps,
who fed bodies to survive—
fall upon them all, white upon white,
like heavy winter snow.

To be the true Shepherd in this shepherdless land,
to become the true Parent to the orphaned souls of humanity,
to pour a new spirit and a new heart
upon hardened hearts,
to come with the trumpet of dawn
over a sleeping humanity—
You who come!

Your heart, freely given,
that dazzling grace—
awakens souls, souls…
to a new morning.

Our King Jesus!
With clumsy lips, limping feet,
blind stammering steps,
wounded and unclean,
we fall before You.
Cover the depths of our souls
with the white grace of Your mercy.

O glorious gift of heaven,
Immanuel!
Our Baby Jesus!

Amen.

— Wan‑Hee Yoon, “Gift,” pp. 153–155