A postcard from the Third Sunday of Advent 12/12/21
So what’s the deal with the pink candle?
To be a bit more liturgically correct, we usually call it a “rose” candle. The third Sunday of Advent is known as Gaudete Sunday. Gaudete is Latin for “rejoice” and is associated with this Sunday because Philippians 4:4 was often used as part of the service: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.”
Advent and Lent used to look a lot more alike, with a focus on penitence and preparation. The more recent custom of the church in Advent is to focus on expectant preparation and waiting. But when it was a season of fasting, Gaudete Sunday served as a break in the season of fasting. Its counterpart in Lent is the fourth Sunday in Lent known as Laetare Sunday.
So this week is a time to take a break, to wear some pink, and to rejoice. In the words of the Prophet Isaiah:
Cry aloud, inhabitants of Zion, ring out your joy, *
Isaiah 12:6
for the great one in the midst of you is the Holy One of Israel.
A sermon from the Church of the Messiah in Heflin:
Principal text: Luke 3:7-18
Coming next
Next week we will go back in time to hear the story of the visit of Mary to Elizabeth and to hear the powerful words of the Magnificat.
- Dec. 19 – Messiah, Heflin – 4th Sunday of Advent
- Dec. 24 – St. Barnabas, Roanoke, & Messiah, Heflin – Christmas Eve
- Dec. 26 – St. Paul’s, Greensboro – 1st Sunday after Christmas
Notoriously Episcopalian 