St. John’s Lutheran Church
8 December 2024 + Advent 5 (Advent 2c)
Luke 3:1-6
Rev. Josh Evans
Over the past four weeks of our extended Advent observance,
we have lit our candles…
The candle of care –
reminding us of our calling to extend to others
the care of a God who cares for us.
The candle of faith –
urging us to a kind of faith that doubts,
that leaves room for mystery and surprise,
trusting not in itself
but in what God – whose faithfulness is great –
can do and is doing.
The candle of justice –
echoing Mary’s song of radical justice,
of lifting up the lowly, of filling the hungry with good things,
of a world that’s about to turn.
The candle of hope –
persistent and defiant,
offering us a real and lasting hope
that blooms against all odds,
in darkest night and bitter cold.
Which brings us to the candle of peace –
which may be the hardest candle of them all.
In a season that, ironically, leaves little time for peace –
between all the shopping, decorating, gift wrapping, card writing, cookie baking…
Are you tired yet?
In a world of ongoing and seemingly endless violence –
with the present conflict in Gaza now into its second year,
and the war in Ukraine nearing its third full year…
to name just two, of many, places.
In a city plagued by economic inequality and systems of poverty
that only exacerbate cycles of violence…
In a country that seems to care more about the rights of gun owners
more than the rights of a child to go to school without the fear of being shot…
Around our holiday dinner tables –
with loved ones whose relationships are strained
by differences in politics and beliefs,
differences that feel insurmountable,
relationships that seem beyond repair.
Within ourselves –
struggling with our worries and fears,
our feelings of self-worth, loneliness, and insecurity…
Peace – the hardest candle of them all.
Into the midst of our world, our communities, and our lives
that long for peace,
we pray this day.
In just a moment, the choir will sing a litany –
“For the Healing of the Nations” –
naming several countries of the world.
The words are printed on your bulletin insert,
including the congregation’s sung responses.
You are invited to sing along as you feel comfortable.
As we sing, you are invited to come forward to the map,
light a tealight from the Christ Candle,
and place it on a part of the map for which you pray.
Alternatively, you may remain where you are seated,
using the smaller map on the other side of your bulletin insert to pray.
***
Come, you who long for peace –
among nations and between peoples –
peace in our homes,
and peace in our hearts.
Come, light a candle –
a sign of God’s peace.
[“For the Healing of the Nations” is sung.]
Peace – the hardest candle of them all.
Peace – represented by each tealight here,
lit by each person whose prayers, together with others,
pool their light, shining more and more brightly.
***
Hear the voice of the one crying out in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the Lord.”
With a sense of urgency,
John gets us ready for Jesus –
to practice the way of repentance,
to fill every valley and level every mountain,
to make rough places smooth,
to recalibrate our focus on the coming reign of God.
With John, we name the brokenness – around, between, and within us,
and we confront the places
where peace feels absent,
where despair abounds.
And with John, we dare to speak a word of hope, persistent and defiant,
rooted in care for one another and for all creation,
holding fast to a faith that trusts in God’s power to redeem all things,
committed to God’s justice for the forgotten and the vulnerable…
To speak these words of promise:
Peace be yours.
