We’re already beginning week 2 of Advent 2020.
Faith leads to action. The shepherds heard the angels’ report and journeyed “with haste” to Bethlehem. (Luke 2.15, 16) King Herod heard the wise men’s report and responded in anger to kill all the baby boys he could find. (Matthew 2.16) I’ve never contrasted or even heard someone else contrast Luke 2.16 with Matthew 2.16, but both are responses of faith. I think we can say that the shepherds’ faith was mixed with hope – anticipation of the Messiah’s coming. Herod’s faith was mixed with dread – fear of a rival king.
We’ll look more at faith this week.
And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13.13, NKJV)
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen…Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. (Hebrews 11.1…6, NKJV)
Hi.
I like the idea or tradition of the Advent wreath & lighting candles with a meaning attached to each one. However, I feel a bit lost & confused as there seem to be so many different “trends” or traditions for which candle means what. E.g. In 2020 the 2nd Candle is Faith, but in 2021, the 2nd candle was Love, & in 2022 the 2nd candle was Peace.
So does this mean one can focus on anything related to Christ’s birth with each candle, or is there a particular tradition that stipulates what order they ought to be?
I feel your pain. If you look back on my Advent series, you’ll see that some years the second candle was Faith but this year, 2023, it’s Peace. I guess it means there are several traditions out there, and you are correct: it doesn’t matter which tradition we choose…or we could make our own! Focusing on something related to Christ’s birth is the idea, as you say.