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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