Today marks the first Sunday of Advent. My church and others, I’m sure, have made it a custom to include the Advent Wreath in this season. A candle is lit each of the four weeks before Christmas and the Jesus candle is lit on Christmas Day.
The Catholic Church adopted this tradition during the Middle Ages as a way to prepare their hearts and minds for Christmas. The word advent itself comes from the Latin word “adventus” meaning “arrival”. We are preparing for the arrival of Christ. The wreath represents eternity and everlasting life, a circle that never ends.
Today, I’m going to focus on the purple Hope candle. This Hope candle is also known as the Prophecy candle. Like the prophets of the Old Testament, we have the hope that the Messiah will come to save us from the sin of the world.
Isaiah 7:14 – 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.
Isaiah 9:6-7 – 6For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the greatness of his government and peace
there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness
from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty
will accomplish this.
Isaiah 11:1-3 – A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse;
from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him—
the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and of might,
the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—
3 and he will delight in the fear of the Lord.
Micah 5:2 – “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
though you are small among the clans[b] of Judah,
out of you will come for me
one who will be ruler over Israel,
whose origins are from of old,
from ancient times.”
Matthew 1:21-23 – 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel] (which means “God with us”).
Acts 5:31 – 31 God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins.
This first week of Advent and the Hope candle is meant to be a time to reflect on the coming of our Lord and Savior. As the prophets told in the scriptures, the Messiah has come, born as a little baby in a stable in Bethlehem about 2000 years ago. Now my hope is in His coming. I’m waiting with hope and faith that I will see Christ coming in clouds of glory to take me away from this damaged and scarred world.
I Thessalonians 4:16-17 – 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
My prayer and hope this Christmas are that God will turn our hearts toward Him. For it is the birth of Christ and the hope of his returning that we should be focusing on. Let us not get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the season and miss the chance to celebrate the gifts of hope, peace, joy, and love.
Merry Christmas everyone. May the God of Hope bless you abundantly.
Comments are closed