Week 4: Love

Every Sunday during Advent, we've woven the lighting of the wreath into our worship life at [congregation]. “Advent” comes from the Latin verb advenire, which means “to draw near.” By lighting one more candle on our Advent wreath each week, we make visible our spirit of waiting, of expectation.

The first candle we lit in the name of hope: not just what we long for, but our trust for the best within us to rise, and to grace the many endings and beginnings in our lives.

We lit the second candle in the name of peace: the courage to soften, and to cultivate our ability to stay present in difficult moments.

We lit the third candle in the name of joy: the abiding faith that joy unfolds whenever we’re able to enter and consent to the practice of opening to Possibility.

This morning, we light the fourth candle of our Advent wreath in the name of love, as an invitation for the Holy to dwell within us, deepening our capacity to love, and to be watchful of Love’s presence among us. May we open to the love that awaits us in the weeks to come.

[Leader's final sentence, or unison congregational response:] As we prepare to bring new possibilities to life, may love guide us and be a creating force in our lives.

You're invited to use this in conjunction with words for candle lighting on:

• the first week of Advent
• the second week of Advent
• the third week of Advent
• Christmas Eve/Christmas