WHY DO PRIESTS WEAR PINK?
“Have no anxiety at all, but in everything,
by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
make your requests known to God.
Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding
will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”
My inner four-year-old loves to wonder to himself.
“Why is Advent only four weeks compared to Lent’s six?”
“Why do priests wear pink today during this liturgy?”
“Why do some priests insist they wear ‘rose,’ not ‘pink?’”
I won’t leave you in suspense. Advent used to be five weeks but shortened, and priests wear pink to encourage the People of God. As for the last question, I'll leave it to my favorite priest and wait for his reply. :)
In today’s Gospel, with a sense of urgency, the crowd, the tax collectors, and the soldiers all have a wonder, too.
“What should we do?”
To those with a lot, John preaches to give to those who lack. To those who cheat and swindle, John replies for them to take no more from than what was needed. To those who extort or falsely accuse, John answers for them to be satisfied with what they have.
John’s message encourages us not to worry about what we have but to know there will be enough. That if we are lacking in a certain thing, we are called to receive from those called to share. And if we have an abundance of something, we are called to share that with others short of it. We provide for each other through God’s abundance. I can see why the crowd is left expectant, hopeful.
Today, my forty-six-year-old self wonders to himself, “What should I do?”
In the Gospel, John does not leave me in suspense or leave me wondering to myself. John answers the question but he points to One mightier than he. He wants me to ask Jesus and to wait for his reply.
I am left expectant, hopeful. :)
How might we be encouraged and expectant in asking and waiting for Jesus?
Eddie Ngo, SJ