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Advent Candle Lighting Readings, Year A, using prophecies
Advent 1
Let us worship God.
Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. Psalm 124:8
Advent is a time of anticipation.
We have a small light to tell us Christ is coming, but we don’t see him yet,
and so we look for signs from the prophets.
We are told there's a day coming
when the mountain of God's House will be The Mountain
—solid, towering over all mountains.
All nations will journey toward it.
People from all over set out for it. and say,
"Come, let's climb God's Mountain,
go to the House of the God of Jacob.
The Lord will teach us God’s ways
so we may walk in God’s paths."
God will settle things fairly between nations.
God will make things right between many peoples.
They'll turn their swords into plowshares,
their spears into pruning hooks.
No more will nation fight nation;
they won't play war anymore. [light the first candle]
Come, family of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord. from Isaiah 2:2-5
Advent 2
Let us worship God.
Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. Psalm 124:8
Advent is a time of anticipation.
The signs of Christ’s coming continue to grow, but we must keep looking,
and the prophets continue to give us direction:
We are told a shoot will grow from Jesse’s stump, branching into the world.
This is where God’s Spirit will rest,
bringing wisdom and understanding,
giving direction and strength,
instilling knowledge and a healthy fear of God.
This new growth will come ready to work, dressed in righteousness and faithfulness.
In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together;
the leopard and the goat will be at peace.
Calves and yearlings will be safe among lions,
and a little child will lead them all.
No one will hurt or destroy on God’s holy mountain;
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of God
as the waters cover the sea.
On that day, Jesse’s Root will be raised high,
posted as a rallying banner for the peoples. [light the second candle]
Come, let us rally around God’s new life. from Isaiah 11:1-10
Advent 3
Let us worship God.
Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. Psalm 124:8
Advent is a time of anticipation.
We celebrate as the signs of Christ’s coming, already and not yet,
continue to grow, and the prophets tell us more.
We are told that wilderness and desert shall rejoice,
badlands will celebrate and flower,
resplendent in the glory and majesty of our God.
Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees.
Tell fearful souls, “Courage! Take heart!
God is here, right here,
coming to put things right and redress all wrongs.
God is on the way! God will save you!”
Blind eyes will be opened,
deaf ears unstopped.
Lame men and women will leap like deer,
the voiceless break into song.
Streams of water will burst out in the wilderness,
streams flow in the desert.
And the ransomed of God shall return,
and come to Zion with singing. [light the third candle]
Come, let us return to our God with joy. from Isaiah 35:1-6. 10
Advent 4
Let us worship God.
Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth. Psalm 124:8
Advent is a time of anticipation.
Waiting so long for God’s signs,
sometimes we give up looking, and find our own instead.
But the prophets still have things to tell us.
We are told that we weary our God with our wastefulness,
but God will give us a sign in any case:
It is this:
a young woman shall conceive and will give birth to a son,
whom she will call Immanuel.
Before the child knows how to refuse the bad and choose the good,
the threat of war will be over. from Isaiah 7:13-16
A young woman shall conceive.
A young woman is with child.
A child shall be born.
Immanuel has come.
God has chosen and is choosing us. [light the fourth candle]
Come, let us open our hearts for God’s grace.