First Sunday of Advent - HOPE

Here is a candle lighting liturgy I pulled together from various sources last year for the first Sunday of Advent.

First Sunday of Advent – Hope

Scriptures: Jeremiah 33:14-16; Luke 1:67-79

"The first candle of advent draws attention to the hope and anticipation of the coming of a Messiah that weaves its way like a golden thread through Old Testament history. As God’s people were abused by power hungry kings, led astray by self-centered prophets, and lulled into apathy by half-hearted religious leaders, there arose a longing among some for God to raise up a new king who could show them how to be God’s people. They yearned for a return of God’s dynamic presence in their midst.

And so, God revealed to some of the prophets that indeed He would not leave His people without a true Shepherd. While they expected a new earthly king, their expectations fell far short of God’s revelation of Himself in Christ. And yet, the world is not yet fully redeemed. So, we again with expectation, with hope, await God’s new work in history, the Second Advent, in which He will again reveal Himself to the world. And we understand in a profound sense that the best, the highest of our expectations will fall far short of what our Lord’s Second Advent will reveal!”
[Taken from: The Season of Advent: Anticipation and Hope by Dennis Bratcher]

Waiting
As Sarah waited…
Ninety years for a son to fulfill God’s promise
We wait in hope for what we thought had been promised to us
As Moses waited…
40 years in the desert being prepared by God to lead his people
We wait for emptiness and humility; for bravado to wither
As Israel waited…
40 years in the desert, hungry, depressed, thirsting, unsure
We wait for things to move on and generations to pass
As the prophets waited…
1000 years of promises that God would raise up a Savior
We wait for things to change
As Mary waited…
9 months of her 14 years for the child of God
We feel the birth pangs yet fear for the child
As John the Baptist waited…
Scanning the crowds for the one whose sandals he would not be worthy to untie
We long for an experience of the Divine
As Jesus waited…
30 years of creeping time
40 days in the desert of temptation
3 years in the midst of misunderstanding
3 days in the depth of hell
So we wait for God’s time
Preparing the way
Our turn to toil on leveling mountains and straightening paths
Our turn to watch the time horizon
Our turn to pass on the hope
the one who promised is faithful
and will come back
[Taken from: Alternative Worship (Baker, Gay, & Brown, 2003)]

Lighting the Candle:
We light the first candle to remind us that Jesus is our hope. Romans 8:24-25 reminds us, “In this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.”