The Third Sunday of Advent - The Angel's Candle - December 11, 2011

"And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.  But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people;  for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
"This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
"Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased."
~Luke 2:9-14  

Prophecies of old foretell of the coming of Messiah; a baby, born of a virgin is born in Bethlehem; and now, the announcement that the Prince of Peace has arrived!   The Third Sunday of Advent is known as the Angel's Candle, because God's messengers made a spectacular appearance to announce that the Savior had been born.  Before this event, any time an angel was sent by God, the angel appeared singularly to deliver the message.  But here, after the message is delivered, the entire night sky is filled with angels rejoicing and praising God.  This was different, this was the birth of God's Son, Jesus, and all of heaven burst into praise. 

You may have noticed that the candles of the Advent wreath are not the traditional Christmas colors of red, green, silver, or gold.  There are three purple candles, one pink candle, and one white candle.   In Bible times, purple was a costly dye and was therefore a color of royalty.   It is used for three of the Advent candles to denote the royalty or "King"liness of Jesus, along with the ideas of seriousness and repentance.  In the center, the white candle represents Jesus, the sinless Son of God.  On this Third Sunday of Advent, the pink candle is lit - the Angel's candle.  The pink joyful color reminds us that God has heard the yearning of our hearts for a Savior, and indeed He has come and we are filled with joy.

Joy to the World, the Lord has come!