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Magnificat focus: “God fulfills promises”
Contributor: Rev. Alex Evangelista
Leader: Advent begins in honest longing and active trust.
We gather before the God whose hesed,
steadfast, covenantal mercy,
abides and does not let us go.
With Isaiah, we dare to ask for holy disruption in a hardened world. (Isaiah 64)
With the psalmist, we seek restoration and the shining of God’s face among us. (Psalm 80:7)
With Jesus’ fig-tree teaching,
we practice attention to tender signs of nearness in ordinary time. (Mark 13)
And with Mary, we magnify the One who remembers mercy and fulfills promises,
forming in us a courageous hope that overcomes fear.
Leader: Hear from the prophet:
when systems calcify and distances harden, we pray,
“Disrupt what separates us; make your presence unmistakable among us.” (Isaiah 64)
People: Restore us, O God, let your radiance be known among us, that we may be saved. (Psalm 80)
Leader: From the Gospel, we receive the fig tree’s wisdom:
attend to tender shoots;
read the nearness of God in small renewals and ordinary days. (Mark 13:28-37)
People: We wait awake, alert to unveiling, attuned to mercy.
Leader: And with Mary we confess:
God has remembered mercy and fulfilled promises. (Luke 1:54-55)
People: Holy is God’s name.
All sing or say:
O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel,
that mourns in lonely exile here, until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
Leader: We light the first candle of Hope,
as witness to God’s faithful nearness and promise-fulfilling love.
People: Where fear narrows our vision,
let this light widen our sight.
Leader: Make in us a spacious hope: watchful, courageous, and for the common good.
People: The One who calls us is trustworthy; our hope will not be put to shame.
(The first (blue/purple) candle is lit.)
Leader: God of enduring mercy, you do not abandon your people or your world.
Where we are exiled by despair, gather us in.
Where power hoards and harm multiplies,
interrupt us for justice.
Teach us the fig tree’s tenderness;
tune us to Mary’s courage.
Awaken us to your kin-dom come,
your unveiling in small fidelities and great liberations.
Let this season train our imaginations for your arriving presence,
hope that organizes, hope that comforts,
hope that risks love.
Through Jesus Christ, Light among us. Amen.
All: Come, Lord Jesus, our Light and our Salvation.
Let us magnify the Lord with hope that overcomes fear!
Rev. Alex Evangelista is a DMin Candidate at Columbia Theological Seminary. He is the pastor of Pine Shores Presbyterian Church, FL.
Listen to what Advent means to Alex at tinyurl.com/CTSAdventMeans
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