The Pink Candle


This coming Sunday is the third week of Advent, sometimes referred to as “Rose Sunday,” or “Gaudete (Latin for “rejoice”) Sunday,” for those really wanting to connect to our Roman Catholic roots.  Unfortunately, the Advent Wreath we have in our Sanctuary does not have a pink candle (which I do hope to rectify for next year), but the tradition continues and hopefully the Advent wreaths you have at home do have a pink candle.

I recall the old Sesame Street song, “Which one of these is not like the others?” when I look at the Advent Wreath.  It is such an obvious difference that it immediately draws our attention.  I know many an acolyte who was delighted that it was the week to light the pink candle because it was “special” just because it was a different color.  But why?

There are several explanations, and, as with most Church traditions, I think the truth lies in the amalgamation of them.  First, Advent is considered by some to be a mini-Lent, a time of reflection and penitence.  Similar to Lent, which also has a “Rose Sunday (the Fifth Sunday of Lent)”, it was considered a little respite from the fast – not a complete break, but a breath of grace in the midst of divine judgement. This is supported by the lectionary readings that included words like, “joy” and “rejoice.” These terms are not quite as obvious in this year’s readings, but they are there. As I mentioned above, the Latin name for this Sunday – Gaudete – means “rejoice,” and it is hard to rejoice if one is being completely penitent, so lighten up a bit, including the color, and rejoice!

Many of the churches and traditions that follow the penitential purpose of Advent use purple as the liturgical color for Advent. Other churches and traditions use blue as the liturgical color for Advent, partially to distinguish it from Lent, as well as focus on Mary, Jesus’s mother.

An aside - When I was a child, I attended St. Paul’s Church in Bound Brook. Every year we did the same Christmas Pageant based on the Gospel of Luke (with some of Matthew thrown in for good measure).  “Mary” made her first appearance in front of “Gabriel” and received a flower signifying that she was pregnant.  For that scene, she wore pink.  In a following scene, when the Holy Family is visited by angels, shepherds and Magi, she wore blue.  When I asked about the color change, I never got a satisfactory answer, something like, “to signify a change had happened.”

In my humble opinion, pink does not signify purity or virginity, but generations in the Church have put these two together and come up with a tradition that is hard to unseat.  The lectionary does offer the opportunity to use the Magnificat on this Sunday rather than the Psalm (which we are not doing this year) as a way to offer Mary her deserved place of honor.  We will be signing, “Lo, how a Rose e’er blooming,” and I want to point out that the Rose refers to Jesus, not Mary!  The lyrics of the third verse are:
O Flower, whose fragrance tender, with sweetness fills the air
Dispel in glorious splendor the darkness everywhere;
True man, yet very God, from sin and death now save us, and share our every load.

I do have deep regard and love for Mary.  She is the definition of courage and fierceness that the world too often tries to strip her of, casting her as meek and mild.  Nope.  Nor do we have to associate her with pink because she is female. Regardless of arcane gender traditions, we can, and should, rejoice that she said, “YES!”

I pray that your Advent journey is illuminated and refreshed by the pink candle, however you choose to understand its significance.  It does tell us the Savior draws near – prepare and make way for the Lord!

With Advent Blessings,
Rev. Valerie+

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