These reflections are inspired by and adapted from the UMC Discipleship Ministries Advent Candle Lighting Liturgy 2020 with questions developed by Rev Kristin Rockwell.
Advent Week One
Our lists are long, even in this strange mess where we live these days. And we want to do it right, we want to be safe, but we want to be able to enjoy the season. We’ve got work to do to put right what has gone wrong, to heal what is broken, to mend the relationships, and to prepare for the company that will come.
The prophet Isaiah reminded us that there is work to be done. “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God”. When God comes in, then healing is to be found, but we need to make the way; we need to open the door into our lives.
In silence let us reflect:
What do I want to prepare at home for the coming of Christ? What do I need to prepare for the coming of Christ?
What do I need to prepare my body for the coming of Christ?
In anticipation of Christ’s coming, how do I need to prepare my Spirit?
Do I hear a voice crying out?
So, we light this first candle as a sign of our faith that the God we worship is not far from us and that we can clear the way for that God to come and dwell with us.
O Come, O Come Emmanuel.
Advent Week Two
If ever there was a year we needed Advent, this is the year. We hardly know how to describe the year we have lived through. We hesitate to reflect on all the mess around us in 2020. All we know is that nothing seems right, nothing seems like it used to be nothing. We need Advent!
The prophet Isaiah cried out for us, “O that you would tear open the heavens and come down…To make your name known…so that nations might tremble at your presence. So tear through the mess, O Lord, and come down to us again. We long to be your people, a people of hope.
Let us reflect in silence:
What hope will the Christ child bring this year?
How am I invited to participate in that hope?
Where is my hope?
We light these candles as a sign of our hope. Hope that you can meet us, even in the mess of our world. Hope that you still see us, though we feel we are lost in the rubble. Let this light be the guide that brings us to Emmanuel once more.
O Come, O Come Emmanuel.
Advent Week Three
We live on the brink every day. We stand on the threshold between this world and the next one. We live and move between the ordinary and divine, between the mundane and the mystery. Too often, we forget to look up and see the angels in our living room. We forget that the love we give and live is a sign of eternity, God with us, right now. We forget that company is coming.
Luke tells us that God’s favor came to a girl, an ordinary girl. It might have been you or your daughter; it might have been the girl down the street or your grandchild. But the messenger of God came and greeted her and said, “The Lord is with you.” What a gift and promise: Emmanuel, God is with us.
Let us reflect in silence:
What name does the Lord call you? What do you wish to be called?
What would you name the Christ child?
How have you been favored by God?
We light these candles with peace in our hearts for the promise of proximity, the nearness of God. Even when we forget to listen, to lean into that presence, God is as close as our own breath. This, in a confused and confusing world, is a peace that passes all understanding. It is the peace that knows that company is coming.
Advent Week Four
We want everything to look nice: the decorations of the season, our homes with their lights and tinsel, wreaths and ribbons. We want to lighten the darkness around us, bring beauty to the ugliness that wears us down. We decorate, because it is tradition. Because it lifts our hearts. Because it makes us feel like children again. We deck our halls because company is coming.
The prophet Isaiah smiled when he said, “God will give a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, a mantle of prairie instead of a faint spirit.” No matter how far we feel from the spirit of the season, God promises to decorate us with love and with joy.
Let us reflect in silence:
What traditions do we need to set aside this year?
How will the traditions we keep make room for the Christ child to appear?
Do my traditions make room for others to participate in the Christ story?
We light these candles as a sign of our joy in the beau beautiful things of this seasons—not just the things that glitter and flash, but the deeper things, the beauty of the heart and the world, the beauty of love shared in service and hospitality. We light this candle of joy because company is coming.
O Come, O Come Emmanuel.
Christmas Eve
Advent hope moves us; Advent love leads us; Advent joy stirs us; Advent peace stills us, that we might affirm our King Jesus.
It is time we set flame to this Advent affirmation by lighting the Christ Cadle.
We believe that Jess is the Son of God. He was born of the Virgin Mary in Bethlehem of Judea. He was the long-awaited Messiah whose coming was prophesied. The same Jesus lives today in our hearts. He deserves our highest loyalty and total commitment. In Jesus Christ our hope is fulfilled; our love is consummated; our joy is complete; and our peace is sealed.
Rejoice, a Savor is born!
