Candle Lighting Liturgy

Reader One: Today, like the shepherds, we encounter the glory and wonder of the birth of the Christ Child, Love Incarnate. The prophet Isaiah tells us that “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness-on them light has shined” (Isaiah 9:2 NRSV). Sometimes the light surprises us. Sometimes it sneaks up on us, little by little, like a baby growing in the womb of a young woman in a small town in Galilee.

Congregation: Love Incarnate has come to dwell with us in glory as bright as the angels, as ordinary as the shepherds, and as profound as the promise that this vulnerable child lying in a manger will establish endless peace, justice, and righteousness.

Reader Two: We light this candle as a sign of Christ who comes to dwell with us, shining God’s glory among ordinary people and in unexpected times and places. May we be a people who pay attention and watch for glimmers of glory as we, like the shepherds, share the joy of God’s salvation and restoration wherever we go.

Light the center candle of the Advent wreath.