Logos Bible Study

This past Sunday marked the 3rd week of Advent, the month-long run-up to Christmas, the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Advent is from the Latin, adventus, which means “coming”; Advent is the four weeks anticipating the “coming of Christ,” a celebration of his birth in a stable in Bethlehem. In liturgical churches the color purple sets the Advent tone. Purple is the color of royalty, welcoming the coming into the world of Christ, the King. It is also the color of fasting, penitence and suffering used during Lent and Holy Week. The dual association is not accidental: Jesus’ birth cannot be separated from his death, burial and resurrection. The purpose of Jesus’ incarnation is to reveal God’s love and grace through Jesus’ life and teaching, of course, but also through his passion: his crucifixion, death, burial and resurrection. Hence, the same color for the two seasons. In fact, in the early church, Advent was a time of fasting and penitence, much as during Lent. During Advent, many churches bed