The Colours of Advent
Sermon by The Reverend Dr Sam Cappleman
Its official – Christmas is on the way
I heard on the radio the other night that once December has arrived we can
begin to prepare for Advent and Christmas
There are many different colours we associate with this time of the year
Often when we think of Christmas we think of the reds and greens we see on
the wrapping paper and Christmas cards
Christmas crackers too are often coloured with reds and greens
Red and green are more secular colours of Christmas
They are derived from old European practices of using evergreens and holly
with red berries to symbolise ongoing life and hope that Christ’s birth
brings into a cold world ‘In the bleak mid winter’, as the carol says
As Christians at Advent we look for Christ’s coming as a baby at Christmas
but we also look for his second coming as Lord and King in the fullness of
time
It’s a focus on the past and the future and as such symbolises the spiritual
journey we are all on, whether we profess ourselves Christians or not
Historically the church’s colour for Advent is purple, the colour of
penitence and fasting but also the colour of royalty as we wait for the
coming of the King. Advent means ‘coming’ or ‘arrival’.
The colour of the Advent candle we lit today is purple. Traditionally this
purple candle represents the Prophets and is also known as the candle of
expectation or hope
It’s the candle of hope because God revealed through His prophets that He
would not leave His people without a shepherd, without hope.
Some of the readings we have at Christmas time come from the Old Testament
and speak of the coming of the Messiah and the anticipation of the coming
Messiah weaves its way through the Old Testament like a golden thread
God’s people were abused by power hungry kings and led astray by self
centred false prophets and so they yearned for the Messiah to come – a King
who would save them
We too in hope and expectation wait for the Messiah to come, just as the
prophets foretold. Wait for God’s new work in history when He wraps up time
and comes again in glory, His Second Advent
Through Christ’s birth death and resurrection, His first Advent we have the
sure hope that He will come again in His second
And while we wait, in these between times, as Christians we are called to
offer hope to those around us. Those in hopeless circumstances, those with
less hope than ourselves, those who need to look to others for hope
In our mission project this year we’ve been supporting those less fortunate
than ourselves in Africa who need our help and hope to fund their hospital
needs – we have been able to offer hope and make a difference
This Christmas as we wait in expectation, let’s pledge to offer the hope of
the Messiah who has come and the Messiah who is to come to those who lack
hope: those who are sick, those who are lonely, those who are in need, those
who are exhausted from the pressures of life, those who think there is no
meaning to life.
Perhaps wrapping their present in purple rather than red, green, silver or
gold this year representing the hope we wish each other and for them.