In these Advent weeks, we wait for the Light to appear through the darkness. Each week we light another Advent candle until all 5 are lit. The light grows weekly as we approach Christmas Day when we celebrate the arrival of Jesus; Emmanuel (God with us), A Light in the Darkness.
From deep in the past, Jeremiah calls to us, “The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfil the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah”
As we light the first candle we say,” We light this candle of HOPE as a sign of our commitment to wait attentively
and prepare for the days that are surely coming and are already here –
the days when God’s kingdom of love, justice, and mercy will reign.
Let us pray.
God of darkness,
in these days marked by cold air and growing night,
gather us in your secret place of waiting.
Remind us that the dark is not empty.
Show us where new life is being formed.
Reveal to us the fertile grounds of our waiting,
that we might bear witness to your incarnation among us,
both now and in the days to come.
Amen