Emmanuel Church, Bungay, Suffolk

The Minister's Sermons

"We Light the Candle of Peace " by Revd Bruce Waldron - 5th December 2004
Whenever I come to the advent time of year I am always a little perplexed as to which way to go. There are so may different ways of remembering the Sundays of Advent.
We heard last Sunday night from Stephen about the Anglican way of using the Advent Candles. Ours is quite different. But for both traditions, the purple colours of the candles remind people that it's a penitential season, a time of special preparation for Christmas day, when we celebrate the coming of the Christ Child.
The idea is that when we get to that day, we've spent enough time before God to really have ourselves in a proper frame of mind to celebrate the coming of the Christ Child. In the Methodist tradition, the first Sunday of the following year is the direct follow up to Christmas and this time of preparation, when we have the Covenant Service, and commit ourselves again to following Christ and working together for God.
Did you know that there is another reason why purple is used. Its because in some parts of the Christian church, purple is seen as the colour of royalty. We are welcoming the coming King, the King whose reign will bring hope, peace, joy and love! So we have purple candles.
The first candle symbolizes hope, or in some places, the prophets. But that is where the idea of this candle being the candle of hope came from. The prophecies of Isaiah are the prophecies of hope, as we've heard today.
There is a hope that there will come a time when there will be no more destruction. The Lion and the Lamb lying down together are so symbolic. The lion is the essential predator, the lamb is the essential victim. And this passage indicates that the predator won't be a predator any more, and the victim won't live in fear anymore. That's the origins of our lighting the first candle for hope. One day, the people of this world will move beyond the idea of needing to prey on each other for survival. The vulnerable will be safe because the powerful will be gentle.
The Icon of Australian Country music, Slim Dusty, once wrote a song that went "When the man said "This way to heaven, this mad crazy world said no!" There is the hope in the prophets, that one day this mad, crazy world will say "Yes."
Today's candle stands for peace. Of course, in the catholic liturgy, as Stephen explained last Sunday night, it stands for the angels. The connection isn't hard to work out is it? What did the angels sing.
"Peace on earth, goodwill to all people."
The coming of the Christ child is supposed to be the bringing in of peace, both in the heart of the individual and in the heart of the nations; amongst people as well as within them.
Of course the second candle also can be used to symbolize John the Baptist. But he never seemed to quite fit the image of peace in my mind. I like this candle reminding us of the peace of God.
I remember once, in a really tough spot in my life, when everything that could go wrong, had gone wrong. I remember, vividly, in the middle of a time of absolutely horrible despair and loneliness, praying for ages with one thought in my mind. "Despite this, God loves me."
I knew that in the middle of it all, God loved me. And I still remember, early in the morning, the whole load lifting off my shoulders, like someone had lifted a heavy coat off me, and an amazing, clear, and gentle peace coming into my being, and joy that I could not explain. It wasn't just a quick thing either. It lasted for months, through a very trying period, and I knew, without a doubt what the outcome would be. The presence of Christ brought to me a peace that still staggers me, when I think about it, a peace way beyond my understanding when I was going through my own little hell. Christ is the bringer of peace, and joy. I woke up the next morning with joy in my heart and I couldn't fathom why it was there. The third candle is often coloured Rose, for joy, or pink for Mary.
Now if you think this candle isn't Rose, please understand that I am a typical Australian male. Red is a colour. Rose is a plant. Purple is a colour. Mauve is a sort of purple but I'm not sure which sort. If you start to talk about magenta, I will probably assume you are discussing an Italian food.
It's not hard to put Mary and joy together is it. Remember what she said when the angel told her she was going to be the mother of the Christ child.
"My soul magnifies the Lord and my Spirit rejoices in God my saviour, for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed."
I understand that it isn't our custom here to use pink, or rose, or red - be symbols are only worth having if they mean something and I have no wish to impose any symbols that aren't helpful.
But it means joy! Some churches - and I was speaking to Roy Robinson about this - in his church, before he came here, they used all red candles right through Advent, (except for the Christ candle of course) to symbolize the joy of Christ's coming and the Christmas season.
I don't care what colours we use really but I do care that joy is a part of that to which we are called to testify in our Christian faith as we approach Christmas. So often we hear about the joyous season. Have a joyous Christmas! The card says.
Why? Why is it joyous if we don't have a hope that the Prince of peace has come, and is coming? The joyousness of Christmas is because the Lord has come, in Jesus. Joy to the world, the Lord is come.
The last candle is of course, about love.
For love of you and I, for love of this world, God has come amongst us, to share our ways, to speak our language, to put up with what we put up with, and to show us how to do it in a God-like way. This way to heaven folks. This is how to make life really work.
As Slim Dusty wrote, "When the man said 'This way to heaven' some fools knew a better way to go'." But Jesus does show us a way to heaven, and not just when we die, but a way for our whole global society to find a new way.
The prayers of Advent, as a penitential season, are different to the prayers of Lent. In Lent we take time to think about sorting ourselves out, about putting aside the things that hold us in antipathy to God's ways. About saying sorry and putting it right.
Advent is a different time. It's a time for prayers of hope, like the prophets, for prayers for peace for our world, for prayers of submission, like Mary, for prayers of gratitude for the love of God that was so great that we have been sent this one who is Emmanuel, God with us, Jesus the Christ.
This is the time for prayers of optimistic love and hope for the places in the world that are experiencing darkness, for our friends and family who are going through dark times. The light of the world has come, and we can pray in expectation for that light to shine in the darkness. It is also a time to pray for the Spirit of God to illumine the dark places in our own hearts and minds, and to bring us light, because there is a fair chance that to some extent we too have some blind and dark spots that need illuminating. Well, at least I do.
May the hope, peace, joy and love of Christ become more real for us, and for our world. We certainly need it. May the light of Christ bring you blessing through this Advent season and into the coming year.
In the name of Christ. Amen