Third Sunday of Advent :: JOY!

We Wait

(Inspired by Isaiah 35: 1-10)

This is the season of holy waiting.

We wait for the time when the desert will bloom abundantly.

We watch for the day when all God’s people will come together with singing.

We wait while the dawning light appears on the horizon.

Come let us walk in the light of God!

Taken from: re:Worship blog 

This morning I’ve been reading and reflecting on the third Sunday of Advent, as I prepare to light the pink candle of joy and try posture my heart for the third week of Advent ahead. In case you are wondering why the third candle is pink while the other three are purple, here is a good summary I took from the CRI Voice website.

The third candle, usually for the Third Sunday of Advent, is traditionally Pink or Rose, and symbolizes Joy at the soon Advent of the Christ.  In the four weeks of Advent the third Sunday came to be a time of rejoicing that the fasting was almost over (in some traditions it is called Gaudete Sunday, from the Latin word for "rejoice"). The shift from the purple of the Season to pink or rose for the third Sunday Advent candles reflected this lessening emphasis on penitence as attention turned more to celebration of the season.

The rose candle is lit on the third Sunday of Advent, referred to as "Gaudete" or "Rose Rejoicing" Sunday (from the epistle and introit which speak of "rejoicing in the Lord always"). "Rose Rejoicing Sunday" shows how anticipated joy over our Savior's coming breaks through all our serious Advent preparation. 

This year I am taking time out to read the weekly Advent season scriptures from the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL). My "go to" website for weekly Revised Common Lectionary scripture readings is from Vanderbilt Divinity Library. For the Third Sunday of Advent 2013 readings...Click HERE.

I also stumbled on this great resource of prayers, benedictions and liturgies that relate to the weekly RCL readings…
re:Worship Blog (Third Sunday of Advent 2013)...Click HERE.

Finally, some words from Gustavo Gutiérrez regarding this week’s RCL readings from Matthew 11:2-11...

“Gestures of love toward others nourish the hope of the final coming of the Lord, and they make it new and dynamic (James 5:7-8).”

“Relieving the suffering of a few poor in Jesus’ day is a sign, a sign of the strong promise that the good news of God’s kingdom is for all the world’s poor. It is a proclamation through liberating words and deeds. The gospel is proclaimed to the poor by way of concrete actions: enabling people to see, walk, hear, in other words, giving life. In his own days, Jesus gives the example in order for us to understand that it is a commandment for all his followers in the course of history. Today, our gestures of solidarity in the presence of the hunger and poverty of so many in the world have to communicate that God’s kingdom is among us.”

Taken from: Sharing the Word through the Liturgical Year by Gustavo Gutiérrez