Lighting of the Third Advent Candle
from Isaiah
35:1-10, Psalm 146, Matthew 11:2-6, and Luke 1:46-47
Reader 1: The joy of Advent is that Christ has come and
Christ will come again.
Reader 2: What God has done illuminates our hope and
our anticipation for what God will do.
Reader 1: Christ is our hope, and because of this,
God’s past and God’s future contribute to the present.
Reader 2: Christ has come and Christ will come
again. Currently, we live between his
appearings. How should we wait? What does the Lord’s “one day” have to do
with today?
Reader 1: Isaiah spoke of a highway, but the path of
righteousness is as much a present reality as it is an ideal for which we hope.
Reader 2: We are redeemed, therefore our waiting
involves us walking along God’s way.
Reader 1: For as much as Christ enables us to do so, we
find our happiness in God.
Reader 2: We keep faith.
Reader 1: In the name of the Lord we execute justice
for the oppressed.
Reader 2: We give food to the hungry. We set prisoners free.
Reader 1: We help the blind to see. We lift up those who are bowed down.
Reader 2: We look out for the needs of the stranger,
and we uphold the orphan and the widow.
Reader 1: We walk the Lord’s highway as living examples
of the rule and reign of our God.
(Light
the first three Advent candles.)
Reader 2: Come let us walk in the light of the Lord.
Unison Prayer: O God of everlasting joy, we celebrate that
Christ has come. We have no need to wait
for another. Even now, in the actions of
your faithful people, we see glimpses and hear indications of your eternal
glory. In hope we declare Christ is coming
again. Therefore, our souls magnify you,
our Lord, and our spirits rejoice in you, our Savior. Amen.
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