Light the Pink Candle

16(A) Rejoice always, 17(B) pray without ceasing, 18(C) give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 19(D) Do not quench the Spirit. 20Do not despise(E) prophecies, 21but(F) test everything; hold fast what is good. 22Abstain from every form of evil.
23Now may(G) the God of peace himself(H) sanctify you completely, and may your(I) whole(J) spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at(K) the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24(L) He who calls you is faithful;(M) he will surely do it. 1 Thessalonians 5

Today (the Third Sunday in Advent)we light the pink candle on our Advent wreath. Have you ever wondered what’s up with the three purple and the one pink? And why the pink one today? Finding the answer is as simple as looking at the colors. Pink is lighter than purple. Purple is darker than pink. That’s easy enough to understand. Still, what’s the connection? Well, today’s Scripture readings are, like the pink candle, lighter than the ones we’ve been hearing this Advent. They’re lighter in the sense that they focus on the comfort and peace and joy that comes from the Lord Jesus. They focus on the positive results that our King creates by coming into our lives.
Let’s face it; this Advent season carries with it some darker themes. We are reminded that this present world will come to an end when Christ returns. In his office of Judge he will make an eternal separation between the faithful and the unfaithful. We hear the cry of John the Baptist and are confronted with his message of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. This is heavy, serious business. It can be uncomfortable as we squirm in recognition of our own sin. This is necessary. Making a straight path for the King to come into your life is hard work. But today the pink candle burns brightly. We enjoy the light and joyful quality of God’s mercy. We are touched by the Lord’s tenderness. He just wants to hold his sons and daughters close, and His sacrificial love makes it possible.
In Isaiah 61 we hear Jesus outlining His mission and life’s work. His Father is sending Him to preach good news to the poor; to bind up the brokenhearted; to proclaim freedom for the captives; to proclaim the time of God’s favor and his just judgment against sin; and to comfort all who mourn and grieve. With beautiful poetic language he promises to exchange his gladness for our mourning; and praise for despair. Jesus would fulfill this promise by rising from the dead, never to die again, three days after his crucifixion, and his resurrection has become our source of life, hope, peace and perspective. So we light the pink candle today and rejoice in our Risen Lord.
In Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians he says: “16(A) Rejoice always, 17(B) pray without ceasing, 18(C) give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” Paul is saying here: Light the pink candle in your life! God wants you live thankfully. God wants you to live prayerfully. God wants you to live joyfully. But this is exactly where we fall down, more often than not. Thanks to sin at work in us, our memory tends to be awfully short. When problems come charging at us, we forget who stands by our side. We forget that He’s won the ultimate victory. We forget the many ways He’s delivered us in the past. We just see the problem; the loss; the threat barreling down on us and we react in fear or despair or anxiety. Human reactions, to be sure, common to all of us—yet still we need to stop and turn around. We need to remember who goes with us. Jesus, our companion on this journey, has already gone down through the valley of the shadow of death—for you—and come up and out into life that never ends. He’s blazed that trail for you. You need not fear it. He shepherds your every step. He is always faithful to you. This is our source of rejoicing! We rejoice because the resurrection of Jesus trumps any card that the devil tries to play to hurt us or scare us.
Let’s be very clear about one thing: this call to rejoice is not a command to Christians to slap on a fake smile in bad times, or a cold word of advice to “just get over it.” Rejoicing happens not by denying our troubles, but by looking above and beyond them to the Lord. Rejoicing happens when God’s Word (with the Holy Spirit) breaks into your life once again and brings you face to face with Jesus. Rejoicing happens when God’s Word reminds you that your strong Shepherd has never left your side. Christian author Sherwood Wirt has written that “joy is the enjoyment of God,” and to that I would add that “joy is the enjoyment of God and the gifts He has given you through the actions of His Son Jesus.” You are God’s child by baptismal adoption; your sins are forgiven in full, thanks to Jesus; your life is unfolding according to His plan; He has promised that you will never be without Him. No difficulty that you face can rob you of these gifts.
Our joy is in the Lord Jesus. Let the pink candle shine. Amen.