The Candle of Hope
Advent season is an invitation to set your mind off the stresses of the year. We can take our focus off the crazy hustle that can be associated with the Christmas season that often threatens to produce more hassle than delight.. Advent is a chance to focus our thoughts on the gift God has given us in His Son, Jesus, who stepped down from Heaven and took the form of a man so that we might believe.
The tradition for the first Sunday of Advent includes lighting the candle of hope.
This candle of hope symbolizes promises delivered through the prophets from God as well as the hope we have in Christ. God crafted a great rescue plan that He lays out in Scripture. This plan foretells years in advance the arrival of Christ. The Bible also gives us a glimpse of the future and promises that God will come down to create a new Heaven and Earth.
This first Sunday of Advent we read, pray, and reflect on the hope God's plan gives us (foretold by the prophets and fulfilled by the life and death of Christ), and we meditate on the promise of Christ's coming glory-filled return.
