The Color Purple
Illustration
by Brett Blair

For those using the liturgical colors of the season of advent: Whenever I reflect upon the fact that purple is the color of Advent, I am reminded of an historical story. When Louis the IV was a young boy growing up in France the Royal family employed one of the best teachers in the land to instruct him on the ways of royalty. When he arrived the first thing that he did was to give the young prince a purple tunic. Your grace, he said, I cannot give you orders, for I am but a commoner. How can a commoner command royalty. But I give you this purple tunic. And every time I see you doing something unbecoming of the royal prince, I am going to point to the purple and remind you that that represents France. I will remind you that it is for that that your countrymen died. I will not make my appeal to you, your Prince, I will make my appeal to the purple.

ChristianGlobe Networks, Inc., ChristianGlobe Illustrations, by Brett Blair