20 Days Before Christmas

 

In the Christian season of Advent we prepare for the "advent" of Christ at Christmas.  Several have asked me how people use their Advent wreaths.

Early preparation includes many things when lighting the first candle:

• We remember Israel's hope for the coming of God's Messiah
     to save, to forgive, and to restore them.
• We remember our hope for the second coming of Jesus.
• We remember our need for a Savior to save us from our sins.
• We prepare to welcome Christ at Christmas into our
     world . . . and into our hearts.

Before the first candle of the Advent wreath is lit, one tradition requires Psalm 40:1-11 to be read aloud.

Isaiah 40:1-11  
   “Comfort, comfort my people,” says your God. “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem. Tell her that her sad days are gone and her sins are pardoned. Yes, the Lord has punished her twice over for all her sins.” Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting, “Clear the way through the wilderness for the Lord! Make a straight highway through the wasteland for our God! Fill in the valleys, and level the mountains and hills. Straighten the curves, and smooth out the rough places.
   Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. The Lord has spoken!” A voice said, “Shout!” I asked, “What should I shout?” “Shout that people are like the grass. Their beauty fades as quickly as the flowers in a field. The grass withers and the flowers fade beneath the breath of the Lord. And so it is with people. The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever.”
   O Zion, messenger of good news, shout from the mountaintops! Shout it louder, O Jerusalem. Shout, and do not be afraid. Tell the towns of Judah, “Your God is coming!” Yes, the Sovereign Lord is coming in power. He will rule with a powerful arm. See, he brings his reward with him as he comes. He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will carry the lambs in his arms, holding them close to his heart. He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young.

As someone lights the first purple candle on the Advent wreath, they say,
"Like God's people before the coming of Christ, we also look ahead to the time when Christ, who is both the Lamb and our Shepherd, will finish his work and 'God will wipe away every tear' from our eyes."

Another person says,
"We light this candle because, like God's people centuries ago, we also look forward with hope to the coming of the Shepherd.  The purple color of the candle reminds us of the seriousness of our hope."

All present then unite their voices in this Prayer of Hope:
"Dear God, as we light this candle, we hope for your coming as our Good Shepherd.  Please gather us in your arms, feed us with spiritual food, wipe away every tear from our eyes, and "let your face shine, that we may be saved”.  Come, our Shepherd!  Amen."

Christ is coming. It's that simple.

This weekend we'll be sharing the first weekend of a Simple Christmas. 
Bring a friend.

Revelation 7:9-17  -  After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands. And they were shouting with a mighty shout, “Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne and from the Lamb!”

And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living beings. And they fell before the throne with their faces to the ground and worshiped God.

They sang, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and strength belong to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

Then one of the twenty-four elders asked me, “Who are these who are clothed in white? Where did they come from?”

And I said to him, “Sir, you are the one who knows.”

Then he said to me, “These are the ones who died in the great tribulation. They have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb and made them white. “That is why they stand in front of God’s throne and serve him day and night in his Temple. And he who sits on the throne will give them shelter. They will never again be hungry or thirsty; they will never be scorched by the heat of the sun. For the Lamb on the throne will be their Shepherd. He will lead them to springs of life-giving water. And God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”