On this most beautiful of mornings
we come with thankfulness for life and breath.
Thankful for the brilliant blue of the winter sky,
for the bracing pinch of the cold wind on our cheeks,
for the lacy frost decorating our windows,
for the comfort of coffee and tea and hot chocolate,
for the taste of cinnamon and gingerbread.
Open our eyes to the beauty all around us.
Thank you for another season of advent
where we light a candle of hope
which we need so much in these dark times.
A candle of hope for those we know who grieving,
or who are sick….especially____________.
A candle of hope for people whose marriages have broken down.
Hope for the unemployed, who wonder how they’ll pay their bills.
Hope for families camped at borders, waiting for gates to open.
Hope for Syria, where war makers and bloodshed rule.
Hope for our dear planet earth, so trampled by our collective human footprints.
We confess that we are prone to despair—
that hollow feeling that life is too precarious to bear
and there is nothing we can do about it. We think hope is impossible.
Thank you that you are an impossible hope specialist.
You send special delivery news of a saviour whose birth changes us all.
Jesus, keep hope alive in our hearts every day this week.
Hope that it’s worthwhile being kind to strangers,
hope that generosity can make a difference,
hope that tenderness is doable.
Give us strength to be a small light for you,
as small as a single advent candle—our words and actions shining for you.
A flame for you, only for you, our God of Hope.
Amen.
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I am a Mennonite pastor currently teaching theology at Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo, Ontario. I’ve served congregations in Ontario and most recently, Alberta.