Lighting the Second Candle in the Advent Wreath

The reading for the lighting of the Advent wreath for this Sunday is:

Advent 2 – Lord

Leader: As our nights grow longer and our days grow short,

we look on these earthly signs--light and green branches--

and remember God's promise to our world:

Christ, our Light and our Hope, will come.

Listen to the words of Ezekiel the prophet:

“A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you;

and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

I will put my spirit within you, and make you follow my statutes and be careful

 to observe my ordinances. Then you shall live in the land that I gave to your

ancestors; and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.”

(Ezekiel 36:26-28)

The connection here is found throughout scripture.  Those who love justice are the people whom God embraces and upon whom God bestows the greatest of mercies.  A new heard, a new spirit, following God's statutes and ordinances -- these are the signs of true covenant people.  These are folks who embrace The Lord as their singular God, and who are in turn the people entitled to the designation "the people of God."