2012 Advent Wreath Meditations: Advent 2 (McIntyre)

[Light the first candle of the Advent wreath.]

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them. He has raised up a mighty savior for us in the house of his servant David, as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old…

And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins. ( Luke 1:68-70, 76-77)

God chooses the most unlikely messengers…
…a desert wild-man dressed in animal skins and eating locusts and wild honey
… a poor shepherd, shunned by polite society, keeping silent watch in the fields
… or today perhaps a school teacher, a waitress, a plumber, a laborer
… or even a … child

Jesus comes, not just to those of us in [your church's name or city], but even to those in New York, Beverly Hills, Afghanistan, Iraq, Africa, North Korea. Jesus comes to us in the words of a preacher and in the song of a choir, but also in the siren of an ambulance, in a letter opened in a prison cell, in a visit to a nursing home, and in the smile - or cry - of a child.

[Light the second candle on the Advent wreath. A child, perhaps with adult help, can do this.]

All: Come, Lord Jesus. Amen.

• "Away in a Manger," 217, The United Methodist Hymnal
• "Like a Child," 2092, The Faith We Sing
• "God Almighty, We Are Waiting," 3047, Worship & Song