Third Sunday of Advent, A December 15, 2019
Fr. Albert St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette
Color. In her ardent desire to use all of creation in teach us about Christ her bridegroom, the Church loves to use color. Green, the color of orderly growth throughout the year. Red, the color of the blood shed by Christ and his martyrs and the color of the fires of the Holy spirit. White, the color of holiness and purity. Gold, the color of royalty and celebration that often complements the colors of the higher feasts. Blue, the color of Mary, of the wide ocean, the endless possibilities of the heavens above us. Purple, used during confessions and mostly during Lent, is the color of fasting, penance, and above all, of God’s royal mercy, for only a king has the authority to forgive the transgression of his laws.
Which brings us to Advent, this poor, overlooked season. Just 4 short weeks, it’s easy to jump past it to Christmas. It’s easy to overlook what is has in common with Lent – no Gloria and the color of penance. But Advent, though short, is a very significant season. It, more than the other times of the year, is a microcosm of our whole lives. Advent, which means “coming” or “arrival,” is about the coming of Jesus Christ in three ways. First, we prepare to celebrate the fact that he has come as a little child and Christmas. Then, we prepare for the fact that he will come again as judge of the living and the dead. Finally, Advent is a time of inviting Christ to enter our lives in a deeper way each year – that’s why every Advent is considered the beginning of the Church year.
And the purples of Advent are a fair reminder of the realities of this life. Repentance and penance are essential if we’re going to properly prepare for Christ’s return as judge. The lighting of candles and wreaths and trees become symbols of the need to keep the light of Christ with us in the darkness of this world.
And there is the color pink, or rose, if you prefer. For the Church, this is the color of joy. Three weeks into Advent, just one week until Jesus comes, and our preparation takes on a specifically joyful note, so we break out the pink. We rejoice because Christ is near. But it’s still not all joy! The purple returns one more time, a reminder that this life is still like Advent – looking forward to something with joy, but not yet all the way there. We live with hope in a broken world. That hope sometimes means joy, but the pain is never quite gone. Not yet.
You have a week and a half left. How is your advent going? Have you caved into the world and treated it like it’s already Christmas? Will you be weary of the festivities by the time the season actually starts? Don’t be sad. You must still rejoice! I’m not wearing pink for a fashion statement, but I don’t wear the purple for that reason either.
The Church uses the colors of the world to teach us about things beyond this world. The triple use of violet and the single day of rose are an important reminder to us what this life is like. John the Baptist understood this better than anyone. His very existence was a perpetual advent. Penance and preparation and preaching were how he lived because he knew there was something after him, something beyond his life, beyond this world that was still to come, Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of Heaven. His successful preaching career ends in prison and execution, yet he has joy.
So too our lives ought to point beyond this world. People who see how we live should get the sense of anticipation, of expectation for something they cannot see. It shows in our willingness to do penance, to suffer for love, to seek God’s mercy. It shows in the very real, though limited joy that shines out even in the darkest moments like the warmth of Advent and Christmas shine in the darkest and coldest time of year. This hints at the most compelling aspect of our faith: joy in the midst of sorrow. To proclaim the good news, to evangelize, we should point to this reality, to the hope of Advent that is really the hope of the cross and resurrection of Jesus.
It is this paradoxical advent joy that we see in the martyrs who can make jokes while they’re tortured, in the Apostles who rejoiced to suffer for Christ’s sake, in the small, poor, suffering souls who nonetheless shine with gratitude and joy. If you believe in Christ – and if you want others to believe in Christ – this is the tension you should strive for. A life of penance and prayer that is simultaneously a life of hopeful celebration – a lifelong advent that, in the end, gives way to the final coming of Christ’s kingdom of eternal love.
As you look upon the colors and light and warmth of this short season of Advent, renew your commitment to live it more fully, not just for your sake, but for the sake of the world.