Welcome
Bring your family’s Advent wreath to the center of your gathering. Make sure you have matches or a lighter.
One: Last week we lit the first Advent candle that invited us to wait during this special season. Today we continue to celebrate Advent as we watch for the coming of Jesus.
All: Emmanuel, God with us.
(light the first Advent candle from last week)
One: Our circle to remind us of God’s unending love and presence.
All: Emmanuel, God with us.
One: The evergreens to remind us the hope we find in Jesus is eternal.
All: Emmanuel, God with us.
One: The four candles mark the four weeks of joy and anticipation as we wait for the babe in the manger and the coming of Christ again.
All: Emmanuel, God with us.
One: The candles remind us that Jesus is the light of the world.
All: Emmanuel, God with us.
One: Four candles are blue or purple as a reminder to prepare for Jesus’ coming.
All: Emmanuel, God with us.
One: One candle is white, in the center of our wreath, a symbol for the purity of Jesus.
All: Emmanuel, God with us.
One: Today we light the second candle as we prepare for the coming of Jesus our Messiah, Savior and …
All: Emmanuel, God with us.
(light the second candle)
God sightings and prayer offerings
Invite each person to share where they saw or experienced God this week. Invite each person to share something — a person, community, experience, event, etc. – for which they want to offer prayer.
Good and gracious God, we thank you for all the ways you were and are present in our lives and in the world. [Invite each person to say aloud the sighting they named earlier.] We bring our prayers to you, prayers for… [invite each person to say aloud the prayer need they named earlier]. In Christ’s name we pray, Amen.
Connecting with Scripture: Isaiah 40:1-5 and Mark 1:1-8
Read the Scripture aloud the first time using the New Revised Standard Version or the Common English Bible.
Isaiah 40:1-5 NRSV / CEB
Mark 1:1-8 NRSV / CEB
For the second reading of the text, listen for the words Mark quotes from Isaiah in this music.
Connecting through story
Watch this movie clip from the animated version of “Beauty and the Beast.”
- Who was being invited to dinner?
- Why were they inviting Belle to dinner?
- What did the characters have to do to prepare for dinner with Belle?
Connecting with our lives
Engage in dialogue:
- When your grandparents or friends are invited to come to your house, what do you and your family do to prepare for their visit?
- Why do you do these acts of preparation?
- What do you expect to happen when your guest arrives?
- What does the Isaiah text suggest will happen to prepare for the coming of the Messiah?
- Why did he choose those particular tasks as a way to prepare for the coming of the Messiah?
- For whom was John the Baptist preparing?
- How did he prepare for Jesus’ first coming?
- Why do you think the Mark text was included in the shortest Gospel?
- Who is it we invite into our homes and lives during Advent?
- Why do we invite Jesus?
- What do we hope for or expect from Jesus when we offer the invitation?
- What do we do to prepare for his arrival?
- Why is it important to prepare for the coming of Christ during Advent?
- What will you personally do to prepare for the arrival of Christ this year?
- How will you create space for Emmanuel to break into your life and change it?
Teaching points that can be incorporated into your discussion:
- The theme for the second week of Advent this year is “preparing.”
- Advent is a dynamic season. We do not wait passively to receive Christ but rather we are actively engaged in preparing our lives and the world for the inbreaking of Christ in our lives and in the world.
- Isaiah claims that the coming Messiah will bring comfort to the people, leveling the low and high places so the ground is even, and invites us to participate in the same process so that we are ready when Christ comes.
- John the Baptist was Jesus’ cousin who is intentionally preparing a way for Christ to come.
- He is calling people to repent of their sins in preparation for the Messiah for which the community of faith was waiting.
- While Isaiah, John the Baptist and Mark were waiting and preparing for the first coming of Christ, we are waiting and preparing for the coming of Christ again. We do not know the form in which Christ will come again, nor do we know the exact time. The Gospel writer of Mark thought Jesus was coming back immediately. Paul thought the risen Christ would be back in his life time, and yet, we are still waiting. Not knowing the exact details of how or when Christ will come again means we must be prepared for whatever form and time he arrives. Our preparations must be expansive, inclusive and varied as the inbreaking of Christ is both reliable and mysterious. We are called to ready our lives of faith and faithful living.
Listen to another version of “Comfort Ye My People” from Handel’s “Messiah.” This version was produced by Quincy Jones, arranged by Mervyn Warren, and sung by many familiar Black artists. Listen for the words from Scripture, to the tone and style of the music and the ways in which you respond similarly or differently from when you listed to the traditional version.
Prayer
Close your time together by praying for one another, your neighbor, community and the world. Extinguish the candle.
REBECCA DAVIS is the associate professor of Christian education at Union Presbyterian Seminary in Charlotte, North Carolina. A teaching elder and certified educator, she served congregations for over 20 years before moving into academic teaching. In addition to teaching and mentoring students, her passion is child advocacy and ministry.
