Taize for December: Advent, waiting for the Lord

Download a copy of the program for the December service here: Dec. 5, 2024 Taizé Worship Aid.

Introduction

As we gather tonight, we have begun the Season of Advent, a Season of waiting and preparing for the Lord. Is there something you are waiting for this Advent? If so, have you been waiting for a long time?

What practices help you stay focused on the Lord? What could you do this Advent to help you wait with joy for His coming?

The key to any situation in which we find ourselves waiting is to keep our focus on God. Yet it’s all too easy to get distracted and sometimes even stray from thoughts about God.

Our world is full of distractions, and we often welcome them. But all too often, distractions take our eyes off the Lord. We start to turn to them to soothe our painful feelings rather than turning to God Himself. Then we risk losing our focus on the Lord and what He is doing in the present moment. We also risk missing the opportunity He is giving us in these times of waiting to grow closer to Him.

Tonight, let’s wait together.

Reading: Jeremiah 33:14-16

The days are coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise

I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah.

In those days, at that time,

I will make a just shoot spring up for David; he shall do what is right and just in the land.

In those days Judah shall be saved and Jerusalem shall dwell safely, this is the name they shall call her:

“The LORD our justice.”

Commentary

In those days. When will those days happen? Many of us find ourselves in chaotic situations because of health crises, broken family relationships, or political unrest. We definitely need a savior. When will those days be fulfilled?

Closing Prayer

Almighty God, as we await the coming of your Son, may we be comforted in the midst of our fear. You make all things new, turning our turmoil into triumph. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Taizé is an ecumenical, meditative prayer experience using music, chants and scripture. We gather on the first Thursday of every month at 7 p.m. Each month we explore a different theme.

• The Thursday of each month, 7-8 p.m. central time
• In-person and livestream options available.
• A recording will be available after the service.

Registration is appreciated. Register to get details about the live stream.

What is Taizé?

Taizé prayer is practiced throughout the world. It is a meditative candle-lit form of community prayer that includes simple chants sung repeatedly, silence and prayers of praise and intercession. In prayer, we enter the silence, stilling the mind, opening the heart, surrendering to the action of the Spirit ever molding us into the image of Christ. The candles used in the service symbolize the presence of the risen Christ, who conquered darkness and sin and offers new life to all humankind.

Taizé Prayer comes from an ecumenical, monastic community in France and has spread to numerous spots around the world.

From the depths of the human condition, a secret aspiration rises up. Today many are thirsting for the essential reality: an inner life, signs of the Invisible. Nothing is more conducive to communion with the living God than meditative common prayer. When the mystery of God becomes tangible through the simple beauty of symbols, when it is not smothered by too many words, then a common prayer awakens us to heaven’s joy on earth.

All the videos of our Taize prayer services are available here.

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