Third Advent Candle Lighting

Advent Reading modified from Isaiah 35:1-10
Joy of the Redeemed

Pastor: The desert and the parched lands will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy.

Congregation: All the lands of the earth will become as the garden of creation, filled with lush fruits, fragrant blossoms and towering orchards. All people will see the glory of the LORD, the splendor of our God.

Pastor: Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come and bring justice, God’s true justice and grace, Our Lord will being salvation to all creation.

Congregation: Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer and the mute tongue shout for joy.

Pastor: Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. The burning sand will become a fresh pool of sweat water, the thirsty ground bubbling springs. In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow.

Congregation: And a highway for all people will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness. Today we light the candles of Hope and Peace followed this day by the third candle, the candle of joy. It is a reminder that the coming of the Christ into the world brings Hope for the hopeless and Peace to a world that knows all too well the ravages of war, but also Joy to all whose lives have seemed like parched land.

Pastor: The fullness of God’s love and grace will fill every heart and the sounds of Joy will fill the universe as the throngs of all creation enter into the presence of God with singing, and everlasting joy will crown their heads.

Congregation: Gladness and joy will overtake all of creation, and sorrow and sighing will flee away forever.

Advent Song
“A Little Light” #146 in the Dakota Road Anthology

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