One of you e-mailed me today (on Tuesday, Dec. 5):
“I’ve found my pandemic advent candle holder block in the closet. It is too beautiful not to keep using each year, even after the pandemic restrictions have been lifted and it’s not necessary. I bought a whole bunch of purple and pink and white dinner candles. For the last few years, I put the advent candle holder on my kitchen table, and I light the candles during dinner for each night of Advent.
I watch the candles shrink. And I replace them. They shrink again. And I replace them again. This is how I get to Christmas.
But in other years, you gave us something to say and do with the candles at home?”
I like that someone is still using their Home Advent Candle Holder. If I am not mistaken, this family has one of the ones that were created for us by Skip and Vicky’s son Tim, who used Lichtenberg wood burning to make a very dramatic and beautiful veining in the wood of the candle holder.
Ok, so here’s a suggestion. I’ll give you 28 Bible readings. One for each day of Advent. Light the candles progressively — only 1 for the first week; 2 for the second week; 3 for the third week; 4 for the fourth week. On Christmas, you light all 4 plus the Christ light in the middle.
(You can go on lighting the candles at the dinner table if you want for the 10 days of Christmas — light all 5 candles every night at the dinner and remember / tell others a story about a person or a moment of a remarkable Christian faith. I hope we can all come up with 10 saints or miracle examples…)
During Advent, there is a reading (below) for each day. It is usually just a verse or two. Read it over a few times, and then think to yourself / discuss with others at the dinner table: “what does this say to me about God, me and the world?”
WEEK 1 WHAT TO LOOK FORWARD TO
Dec 3: Isaiah 9:2-7
Dec. 4: Isaiah 7:14
Dec. 5: Jeremiah 23:5-6
Dec. 6: Isaiah 11:1
Dec. 7: Isaiah 61:1-3
Dec. 8: Jeremiah 33:14-16
Dec. 9: Malachi 3:1
WEEK 2 WHERE COULD IT HAPPEN?
Dec. 10: Micah 5:1-4
Dec. 11: Matthew 2:1-4
Dec. 12: Matthew 2:5-13
Dec. 13: Luke 2:4-7
Dec. 14: Luke 2:8-9
Dec. 15: Luke 2:15-16
Dec 16: Matthew 2:9-11
WEEK 3 GOD AND GOD’S PEOPLE
Dec. 17: Psalm 80:1
Dec. 18: Isaiah 40:11
Dec. 19: Psalm 23
Dec. 20: John 10:11
Dec. 21: Ezekiel 34:11-12
Dec. 22: Matthew 18:12-14
Dec. 23: Psalm 95:7
WEEK 4 MESSENGERS AND GLORY
Dec. 24: Psalm 89:5
Dec. 25: Luke 2:8-14
