1st Scripture Reading – Luke 2:15-20
15When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let
us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made
known to us.”
16 So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the child lying in the
manger.
17When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child, 18
and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them, 19 and Mary treasured all
these words and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising
God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told them.
2nd Scripture Reading – 1 Peter 1:8-9
8Although you have not seen him, you love him, and even though you do not see him now, you
believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy,
9
for you are receiving the
outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Lighting the Advent Candle – Week 3 – Joy
Reader 1: When God’s people were surrounded by hardship, suffering, and grief, Isaiah proclaimed,
The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; he has sent me to
bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the
captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of
vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to provide for those who mourn in Zion—to
give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of
praise instead of a faint spirit (Isaiah 61:1-3a).
Reader 2: We come today as people who are also surrounded by suffering and grief. And yet, the Spirit
hovers among us, tending and anointing, inspiring freedom where there is captivity, declaring blessing
in places the world has cursed, and igniting fierce joy where mourning and heartache prevail.
Congregation: We wait as people who experience hardship and pain, yet we are called to witness to
the persistent joy that sustains our life as God’s people.
Reader 1: We light these candles as signs of our shocking hope, just peace, and fierce joy. May our lives
shine with the fierce, tenacious joy of the Light who lives in our hearts as we wait and work for the
coming of God’s kin-dom on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.
Light three candles of the Advent wreath. Light 2 purple and the 1 pink