One of the best aspects of the Advent Season is watching the Advent Wreath in the Sanctuary grow brighter and brighter each week as a new candle is lit!

Each candle has a different meaning or emphasis.  Typically, the four Advent Candles lit prior to the Christ Candle represent Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love.  You may have noticed, though, that we are looking at them a little differently this year.

This year we are lighting the Advent Candles around the theme of “The Wonder of Christmas”.  Through the weekly, sung refrain and this over-arching theme, each candle is less about what God has done and more about our response to what God has done.  

The First Candle introduces this theme and challenges us to recover a sense of wonder at the world and God’s role in it.  After all, in today’s world, cultivating a sense of positive amazement in our lives can be a real spiritual discipline!

The Second Candle challenges us to look for God’s restoration, reconciliation, and redemption in a broken world.

The Third Candle challenges us to open our hearts to the value of stillness, patience, and anticipation in our lives.

The Fourth Candle challenges us to look for miracles and signs that, indeed, all things are possible in God.

The Christ Candle, of course, challenges us to rejoice at a holy birth that is the hope of humanity and the light of the world.  We may not think of rejoicing as a challenge but, in today’s joy-impaired world, it is!

Our Christmas and our New Year will be built on assurance and a renewed sense of God’s presence and companionship if we travel through Advent with a fresh appreciation for the power of wonder in our lives.

Join us on our Advent journey!

See you in church,

–Rev. Dominic