In Bethlehem a manger waits Long ago and so today Where hatred-weary people pray Love will come and lay there And so do countless stables stand In hearts as harsh as desert lands Rough shelters in the wind and sand That love may come and stay there Love that opens fists of hate Heaps up gold on beggars plates Love that shows a kindly face To enemies and strangers And the walls of stables tremble so When the winds of fear and judgment blow For a stable hopes in love alone And knows that love s the answer O Love, the prophet s only word The only lesson left to learn The only end of heaven s work And the only road that goes there Love that sees with mercy s eyes Holds its arms out open wide Threads its loom with separate lives And weaves them all together So may the lamps of stables glow Brightly that their light may go For miles in the darkness, so Love will find its way there