| Last Sunday, we marked the beginning of the new church year with the lighting of the first candle on the Advent wreath. It is a candle of hope. Even in the midst of all of the conflicts we see around the world, we live with a spirit of hope. The reading said, “We wait as people surprised again and again by God, who shakes us out of our complacency and wakes us up to the work of the kin-dom all around us.” This coming Sunday, we will light the second candle, a candle of peace and will declare, “We wait as people who yearn for peace that bears the fruit of community, equity, and flourishing for all.” Advent is a time of waiting. We wait with hope to welcome the birth of Christ anew. We wait to see peace made a reality. We wait to see what the New Year will bring. It is an expectant kind of waiting. This coming Sunday’s Hebrew scripture tells us of Isaiah calling the people to “… prepare the way of the Lord.“ The lesson from the Gospel of Mark tells us that John the baptizer appeared in advance of Jesus, proclaiming his coming. We are not asked to sit quietly as we wait. The candles of the Advent wreath remind us that in this time of waiting we hope, we work for peace, we witness persistent joy, and we are transformed by love. May we embrace the work of waiting in this Advent season. |
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| Pastor Candace Gap Pastor PastorCandace@ResurrectionMCC.org |