Progressive Advent Candle Readings
Readings written by Rev. Dr. Christie Love
Week One: Hope
As we enter into the Advent season, we acknowledge the presence of hurt, war, hunger, disunity, poverty, and injustice in our world. In the midst of these realities, we gather to honor the hope that this season represents. The hope is that in the midst of hardship, God promises us presence and friendship. The hope is that in the midst of oppression, God grieves with us and laments broken systems beside us. The hope is that in the midst of needs- God works through people to love and show compassion. May the hope of this holiday season remind us of our choice to seek and champion hope each day. May our choice to embody hope inspire us and others around us to work to make these hopes a reality and the world a better place for all.
May our hope shine light into the world this holiday season and beyond.
Week Two: Peace
The infant Jesus grew up in a world of violence, oppression, and persecution. His family was forced to become asylum seekers in search of a safe place to exist and survive. As an adult Jesus taught that those who follow him should work for peace. Our world today, is in need of peace. The struggle that the holy family experienced is an ongoing reality for millions around our world who flee danger, poverty, hunger, and war in search of safety and stability. May we who seek to follow the ways of Jesus look for ways to create peaceful places for all people to have the opportunity to grow into their potential. May the work of peace unite us across generations and differences of perspectives.
May the work for peace light the world this holiday season and beyond.
Week Three: Joy
In a world where it is easy to list hard realities; joy is subversive. Joy follows the example of Jesus and holds inclusive space for one another and enjoy the privilege of relationships. Joy brings people together in community to overcome the loneliness and isolation that many experience. Joy takes time to celebrate the big and small accomplishments in the lives of others. Joy reminds us that we are not created to do life alone. One of the best ways to honor the spirit of the holidays is by sharing time with people because connections with one another are both the root and the result of joy.
May the gift of joy radiate in our connections with one another this holiday season and beyond.
Week Four: Love
Jesus came to earth to embody love in human form. He came to remove the conditions that checklist religion had put on how to love God and what people should be shown love. He came as a baby in a radical act of love and grew into a teacher that calls us to love everyone as he first loved us- without conditions, expectations, or exclusions. The love of Jesus was not quiet or subtle. The love of Jesus was loud and countercultural to the ways of the world. The love of Jesus flipped tables of oppression and made room for those that were often silenced or overlooked. As we close our celebration of the birth of Jesus, may we never stop pursuing his call to us to continue to make love the legacy of those who follow his ways.
May the light of love shine through the ways that we each seek to love out loud this holiday season and beyond.
Christmas Eve/Christmas Day
We wait all year long for the arrival of the advent season and then countdown week by week for the most holy of nights when we remember when holiness took the form of an infant. This wait reminds us each year of the role that waiting played in the Christmas story and its context. The world had been waiting for generations for the birth of the Messiah. Elizabeth had waited a lifetime to be a mother. Mary waited nine long months to give birth to the Prince of Peace. Mary had to wait in the midst of labor for the innkeeper to allow them to stay in the barn and welcome their holy child. Mary and Joseph then had to wait in Egypt as asylum seekers after fleeing the wrath of a violent tyrant until it was safe to return to their homeland. Jesus waited 30 years in the shadows before beginning his public ministry.
Many of us today can relate to this experience of waiting. We are waiting in our lives for answers, direction, change, or solutions. We are waiting as a collective for justice, peace, and compassion to make the world a better and safer place for all people. On this holy Christmas day may we be encouraged in our own waiting places to remember that God is faithful and moves in divine times and holy ways.
May the light of God’s presence shine into our waiting and our in-between places, bringing with it the; hope, peace, joy, and love of Advent today and every day of the year.