It’s the second Sunday of Advent, 2023 and today the next purple candle was lit during the morning church service. It is the candle representing the coming hope of Jesus entering the world. It is sometimes referred to as the Bethlehem candle, as Jesus, the hope of the world, hails from this locale. This week is also a time to rejoice, rejoice in the anticipation of the coming of Jesus. Some denominations also refer to this as the candle of faith or even peace…
In any event, this entire season we are to slow down and reflect on the life of Jesus and what the birth of Jesus means to the world and to each of us individually. After all, we are made in God’s image – the only creatures on earth who are created in His image. So how did you do with slowing down this past week? That is our mandate. But many of us attend church on Sunday and then we go back to our normal ways during the week.
Especially during this time of year, that isn’t good enough. We MUST slow down and anticipate the birth of Jesus – the beginning of the season when God came from heaven to earth to walk among us and give us a model of behavior for us to follow – a demonstration of love that has never been equalled…
Next week, we move to a pink candle, the candle of joy! But in the meantime, we are to slow down and contemplate the coming of Jesus. It is so unusual for us to adopt this posture of slowing down and waiting – reflecting on the things to come in the next two weeks.
Our verse for tonight is one of the popular readings for the 2nd Sunday in Advent. It has to do with the coming of John the Baptist who is the voice announcing the coming of Jesus. In fact, it is said that John was the “voice” and that Jesus was the “word.” Isaiah, the prophet tells us, in Isaiah 40:3-5, “A voice of one calling: “In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
Isaiah was way before his time in predicting the events surrounding the birth and ministry of Jesus. My encouragement this evening is that we are to patiently wait for the God of the universe, the Creator of everything, to come to earth. My prayer is that we will not miss the opportunity to slow down, reflect on the events to come and then celebrate the way the world changed when God took on human form that night in Bethlehem. Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…