Tag Archives: Advent

Advent Rest

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The gospel for Wednesday in the second week of Advent was Matthew 11:28-30: “Come to me all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

The lesson from the Hebrew Bible was taken from Isaiah 40 and included these familiar words: “but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”

These lessons remind us that one of the themes in Messianic expectation in the Judaism of Jesus’ day was the image of the Sabbath rest. The idea of the Sabbath is one of the great gifts of the Hebrew people to human culture. The fact that we get weekends off, that we even have the notion of a week, is the product of Judaism. In Genesis, God’s creation ends with the creation of the Sabbath; indeed it is correct to say that the Sabbath completes or perfects creation.

The notion of the Sabbath rest permeates Biblical tradition. It wasn’t just for humans. The commandment to keep the Sabbath holy mentioned livestock, slaves and aliens. Sabbath rest extended to the land as well: every seventh year all of the land was to lie fallow, to rest and recover.

While we have retained the notion of days off on the weekend, there is very little in the contemporary weekend that has anything to do with Sabbath rest. Indeed, Advent may be the least restful season of the year. Not just because of the swirl of holiday activity. The scriptural lessons are full of warnings about staying awake and being watchful.

Still, the notion of rest is important this season and for our understanding of the Christian life. Perhaps Augustine said it best, “My heart was restless until it found its rest in you.”

Advent

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We had quite an exciting morning on the first Sunday of Advent yesterday. As I arrived to prepare for the 9:00 service, I noticed one bank of lights in the sanctuary was out. I did a little investigation and discovered that there were power outages all over the building. We learned that there was a downed power line and prepared for a less than brightly illuminated service. Just after the completion of the reading from the Hebrew Bible, all of the lights went out. The church remained in darkness for the rest of the service.

As we worshipped, my eyes were drawn to the only artificial light in the sanctuary–the altar candles and the advent wreath. One of the themes of Advent is darkness and light. Tom spoke of that in his sermon, about the symbolism of lighting another candle each week as the days grow shorter. The flames from the candles were a reminder of the audacity of our faith and our longing for the coming of the Incarnation.

The colors of Advent

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Some of you may have noticed that mysteriously one of the blue candles on the advent wreath at St. James became pink last week, and that it was lit on Sunday with two of the blue candles. Some controversy ensued. Before the change was made all of the clergy were consulted and were comfortable with the change. Little did we expect passions to be aroused.

Fr. Tom said in conversation this afternoon that the advent wreath was a recent liturgical innovation, so I decided to do a little research. While one must approach information on the internet with considerable caution, wikipedia above all, I did find it interesting that according to that source, the modern advent wreath became a common custom in Germany only around 1900, and then only among Protestants. It probably arrived in the US in the 1930s or so.

The color of the candles is dependent on the liturgical color of Advent. Traditionally among Roman Catholics, because Advent was seen as a penitential season, the liturgical color was purple, the same as in the season of Lent. But like Lent, which had a Sunday “off”–Laetare Sunday–when the liturgical color was rose (pink), it became the custom to use pink on the third Sunday of Advent, known as Gaudete Sunday.

As a result of the liturgical changes in the twentieth century that sought to de-emphasize Advent’s penitential nature and to distinguish it clearly from Lent, blue became a popular liturgical color, especially among Protestants. Anglicans could appeal to the Medieval traditions of Salisbury (the “Sarum” rite) which used blue during Advent. In most Episcopal churches, whatever the color of the other candles on the wreath, there is one pink or rose candle, which is usually lit on the third Sunday (though according to some traditions on the fourth).

I suppose that the most “liturgically correct” thing to do would be to get a set of vestments to match the pink candle. But remember, the color of the candles doesn’t matter a great deal; what does matter is what the season of Advent is about, to help us prepare for the coming of Christ.