Earlier this week I was listening to a roundtable discussion of today’s readings by four seminary--four Lutheran seminary--professors. Of the four, two of the four assumed the pink advent candle was for the fourth Sunday in Advent.
They even had good arguments. “I thought pink was for Mary,” one of them said, “and that Mary's Sunday was the fourth Sunday in Advent.”
While that makes sense and is a good and reasonable argument, it's wrong! As I've explained before, the pink candle is for today because, once upon a time, when the very first word spoken on the third Sunday of Advent came from the Introit, the Introit for the third Sunday in Advent was “Rejoice always!” Pink (rather than the more dour purple) expressed the joy of that introit.
Well, we no longer begin our services with an introit, but we do still read the lesson containing it! (And, in place of that introit, we made sure that the first word spoken in worship today was, Joy to the World!) But I want to do more than that, so my message today is, In Praise of Pink!
“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” These words come from the oldest document in the New Testament: Paul’s first Letter to the Thessalonians, written late in the year 54 or early in 55.
A new movie, due out at the end of this month, focusses, not on this period of Paul’s life, but on the very end. In this little clip that I’ll show you, Douglas Campbell, a New Testament specialist on Paul from Duke, graphically describes the period near the end of Paul’s life, ten years after he wrote, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thank in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
“The last four years of his life were hell. ... He’s been called by God in no uncertain terms to go and evangelize ... He’s only done a quarter of the Mediterranean (his goal is to do the whole thing). Twenty-five percent of the mission arguably accomplished and then God locks him up! Doesn’t get him out of jail.
“Peter, you know, goes to jail, angels come, he gets taken out, jailbreak. What happens to Paul? He lies there and rots.
“And then, when he looks back on his churches, he’s really struggled to establish these churches. Maybe only 50% of the areas that he visited were successful in terms of a church founding. And in, maybe, 50% of those churches have proved divisive, disloyal, or have apostatized completely.”
All of this is true. Things were not going well for Paul near the end of his life. And the question it raises for us is, ten years later, in the face of all this, can Paul still say--and mean--”Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and in all circumstances; for this is the will of God for you”?
Growing up, my family attended and were supportive of our local church. But, more and more, my father, in particular, felt his heart strangely warmed by Robert Schuller and The Hour of Power.
Dad hoped, and believed, in the power of positive thinking. He was inspired by the way Robert Schuller described Christianity in just those terms. And, if he had lived long enough, he would have been devastated to learn that the church that Robert Schuller founded--and that my dad financially supported--has now gone bankrupt and that Robert Schuller himself has been ousted from the Board that now runs the church.
Positive thinking is powerful. Kids like me who were raised on The Little Engine That Could (which, I’ve now learned, began as a sermon in 1906!) were trained to think that anything is possible just so long as you believe, “I think I can, I think I can ...”
But it’s one thing to say that when you’re young and the world is your oyster. It’s another thing when--whether you’re St. Paul or Robert Schuller--you’ve seen your dreams dashed and your world in tatters.
The question I’m asking is, is it really possible to, ”Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and in all circumstances; for this is the will of God for you”?
The answer is yes. But, the more important question is, how is it “yes”?
I’ve mentioned that when Paul first wrote those words it was in the year 54 or 55. Those were good years for Paul. Even though he wasn’t able to persuade many of his fellow Jews about the good news he had found in the Messiah Jesus, Gentiles--of all people--were eager for it! Communities of believers were being established. The gospel was spreading, and spreading rapidly, throughout the Mediterranean.
But then bumps appeared in the road. As Douglas Campbell detailed in the video, Paul began to have trouble--serious trouble--not only with those who disagreed with him (which were many) but also with those who agreed with him! In Douglas Campbell’s words, “50% of [Paul’s] churches ... proved divisive, disloyal, or ... apostatized completely,” meaning, they abandoned the faith. By the end of his life Paul was under arrest, awaiting execution.
We have letters that Paul wrote while in prison. Was he broken, bitter, or sad?
Judge for yourself! “I thank my God every time I remember you,” Paul writes, “constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you ...” Paul continues, “I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:3-6)
OK. He’s confident about them but, what about him?
“I want you to know, beloved,” he writes, “that what has happened to me has actually helped to spread the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to everyone else that my imprisonment is for Christ; and most of the brothers and sisters, having been made confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, dare to speak the word with greater boldness and without fear.” (Philippians 1:12-14)
Today’s message is In Praise of Pink. ”Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and in all circumstances; for this is the will of God for you.”
Christmas is a message of light--real light--in the midst of darkness--real darkness! We are not promised an easy life, nor a gentle life. We are promised, however, that whatever life gives us, God is with us.
And God will reign! So, in praise of pink appearing in the midst of a purple world, ”Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and in all circumstances; for this is the will of God for you.”
