ORDERING OUR LIVES:

CHURCH YEAR...................................or SECULAR CALENDAR?




Last Sunday was “Christ the King” or “Reign of Christ” Sunday. It used to be called “Judgment Sunday.”

Did you know that? Does it matter? Do you care? Why is it that every now and then we hear designations of certain Sundays and seasons, like “Lent” and “Pentecost?” Maybe it all sounds like a bunch of old fashioned traditions, or stuffy liturgical rituals, or (gasp!) something CATHOLIC!! What’s the point? Why can’t we just come to church and worship God, pure and simple? That’s all that matters. Why do we have all this excess baggage? It’s not important, and just gets in the way of focusing on the Lord...

May I suggest that it is precisely because we desire to focus on the Lord that we have these specially designated Sundays, and that it is actually helpful to try and incorporate their meaning, not only into our worship on Sunday, but into our everyday lives as Christians.

These designations--Advent, Epiphany, Palm Sunday, Trinity Sunday and the rest--are part of what is known as the Christian year, or “Church Year.” The idea is for us who believe in Christ to truly order our lives based on our faith in God, rather than on the agendas of the world. The Church Year keeps us focused on the history of our faith, the meaning of what we believe concerning God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the Church, and the ultimate purpose of God’s design: to redeem the world and to bring all things to a final glorious conclusion at the end of time. By following the Church Year, rather than the calendar year, we declare that “our citizenship is in heaven” (Phil. 3:20); not here on earth, but in another realm: the eternal heavenly realm of God Almighty. In other words, “This world is not my home, I’m just a-passin’ through...” When we live our lives according to the Church Year and not on the rhythms, routines, cycles and celebrations and holidays of the secular calendar, we demonstrate that our primary commitment is to the Lord; to His plans, His purposes, His ways and not to what the world tries so hard to impose on us. When we observe the Church Year in a more conscious way, it actually frees us from the pressures, demands, and viewpoints of the world! The Church Year keeps us in touch with what’s really happening all around us, not just with the physical realm and the everyday realities that seem so all-important to us, but with the transcendent spiritual realm in which we also dwell, and on the ultimate, eternal realities that matter much more than our day-to-day priorities. It reminds us of what truly counts each day: being obedient to the one whom we follow as disciples: Jesus Christ! And to the hope and joy we find in the fact that God is in charge, over all of the chaos and hardship and distress that we see and experience in our world every day. Living the Church Year keeps us confident that the final outcome of all the evil and suffering, sinfulness and death whirling around us will be God’s triumphant defeat of all of it--and of the devil himself!

Here’s a bit of background and history about the Church Year:
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We keep track of time and seasons of the year by using calendars that provide us opportunities to observe, commemorate, and celebrate certain events or occasions. The Christian year grew out of the conviction that the story of Jesus Christ is the central and most significant story in human history. By practicing the Church Year, Christians are enabled to recall and re-enact this story in such a way as to connect their lives, individually and corporately, with that of Christ. The Christian Church, following earlier Jewish tradition, has long used the seasons of the year as an opportunity for festivals and holidays, sacred time set aside to worship God as the Lord of life.

While Jewish celebration revolves around the Exodus from Egypt, the Christian Church year focuses on the life and ministry of Jesus. The sequence of festivals from Advent to Resurrection Sunday becomes an annual spiritual journey for worshipers as they kneel at the manger, listen on a hillside, walk the streets of Jerusalem, hear the roar of the mob, stand beneath the cross, and witness the resurrection! The rest of the Church Year provides opportunity to reflect on the meaning of the coming of Jesus and his commission to his people to be a light to the world.

The observance of the seasons of the Church Year has a long history in the life of the Christian Faith. When most of the people in the Church were poor and had no access to education, the church festivals and the cycle of the Church Year provided a vehicle for teaching the story of God and his actions in human history. Planned and purposeful observance of the Christian seasons and festivals can become an important tool for education and discipleship in the Faith, as well as a vehicle for spiritual growth and vitality.

As a congregation moves through the church calendar, they are presented in an organized way with the opportunity to talk about, reflect upon, and respond to the entire range of faith confessions that lie at the heart of the Christian Faith. This is important, not only for the vitality of the whole community, but especially for children to become aware in the context of community celebration those things that are important to their Faith (Deut 6:20-25).

The Christian calendar is organized around two major centers of “Sacred Time:” Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany; and Lent, Holy Week, and Easter, concluding at Pentecost. The rest of the year following Pentecost is known as “Ordinary Time,” from the word "ordinal," which simply means counted time (First Sunday after Pentecost, etc.).  Ordinary Time is used to focus on various aspects of the Faith, especially the mission of the Church in the world.  

Many churches also celebrate other days not specifically tied to these cycles, such as Reformation Sunday and All Saints Sunday. These are becoming increasingly popular ways to flesh out the themes of the Church in the world during Ordinary Time by focusing on heritage and the faithfulness of those in the past.

Following the Church Year is more than simply marking time on a calendar or a note in the church bulletin.  Every effort should be made to use the various aspects of the Church Year as an opportunity to tell the story of God's redemptive work in the world.  It is an attempt to allow the Church and its history rather than secular culture to set the agenda for the Church's teaching and ministry.
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As I said before, this is one of the greatest reasons and benefits of observing the Church Year: to allow our Christian faith to set the agenda of our lives, not the secular culture! When we set our calendars on the Lord’s timing and schedule, we do not need to get caught up in the pressures and expectations that the world places on people, especially regarding the rhythms and cycles of the year. It seems that as the world searches for meaning, for excitement, and for “something new,” it creates and re-creates distractions to fill up our time, to drain our pocketbooks, to keep us entertained--and to just keep us busy! Think of the time, money, and energy that many are giving to Halloween these days. Or of the push to buy gifts, cards, and candy for Valentine’s Day. Or of the urgency to buy new clothes, backpacks, notebooks, and other supplies at the beginning of the school year. Or worst of all, the commercialization of Christmas that continues to grow and, in many ways, re-form the thinking and behavior even of us who want to keep the focus of this special season on Jesus. Let’s be honest: most of us who are Christians feel as pressured and stressed and BUSY during December as those who don’t know Jesus! We are as caught up in shopping, partying, programming, and frantic preparations as any other American--even in church! We say it is all for Jesus, we often pray and offer it all to Jesus, we even try to condone our frenzied December routines by attaching “Christian” reasons to what we do (gift-giving, canned food drives, parties, programs, concerts and traditions, etc.).

My question is: do we really have a spiritual sense behind all that we are doing every December? Is the intent actually there; that we are offering all of this to Christ as an act of worship and adoration? Are our children picking up on this at all? Or if we are really honest, do we realize that these are just spiritual excuses to parallel and parrot the actions, activities, and attitudes of the world around us? What would happen--what would it look like--if we refrained from all of the expectations and activities and routines that our culture dictates to us in order to “celebrate the holiday season” and, instead, we focused solely on Christ? Could we do it? How would we do it? Would we discover something that we are not able to see, due to our own rushed and frenzied pace?

Another reason and benefit of observing the Church Year is that it is a way to witness to our culture about the things we truly believe in and value. It can provide conversations about faith, holy history, and the meaning of life from God’s perspective, not from the perspective of our culture, our nation, our media. Again, what would it look like if all of us in the Church did not exhaust ourselves during December with so much “special” activity? What would those around us see demonstrated by us if we didn’t do the same things that the rest of our culture does throughout December? If we expressed our celebration of Christ’s birth in a radically new and different way? What would people think? Would they be curious? Would they think we’re just weird? Or could a different observance by us who call ourselves Christians prove appealing-- and maybe even alter the patterns and perspective of those around us, once they experienced a different mode of celebrating Christmas that was less frantic, stressful, and jam-packed? What if we somehow called a halt to the exhausting pace, the extra meetings and commitments, the holiday details that always threaten to undo us, even within the Church?

What if, instead, we simply made it all about Jesus again? Really about Jesus again? Without any glitz or galmour, or trying to ratchet up the expectations year after year, doing everything bigger and better than ever? What if we took to heart what we sing and say about Jesus being born in a lowly stable, poor and plain, simple and unassuming? What would our Decembers be like if we modeled this aspect of Jesus’ incarnation in our lives and our communities? How would our celebration of his birth look instead? Consider this idea: "Advent Conspiracy"

Observing the Church Year--all of it, not just Christmas and Easter--offers us a healthy spiritual alternative to the world’s routine. It can help us order our lives and keep a “kingdom” worldview all year long. It can help us realize and experience the overarching purpose and plan of God, from creation to the close of history, and provide a framework for the intersection of our physical, earthly existence and our spiritual, eternal reality; the “here-and-now” and the ultimate “out-of-time” existence that is our true home. It can help us remember that the world’s agendas, rhythms, and expectations are not ours, freeing us to follow Him whom we call our Master, our Savior, our King: Jesus!

By now you might be aghast at some of the proposals I’ve laid out here. You might be saying something like: “What’s wrong with Dan?” Of “What a scrooge!” Or “What a wet blanket!” Or “What a party-pooper!” As if I want to take all the fun and joy out of Christmas--and every other holiday and special occasion as well! That is not my intent here at all. In the interest of full disclosure, let me say that the reason I’m writing all of this is to remind myself of what I need to be thinking and doing as we once again approach the beginning of a new Church Year. I need to remember who it is that is the center of the celebration of Christmas. I need to remember where my true allegiance lies, and whose I am! I must remember that I am not first and foremost a consumer robot whose purpose is to help get the economy back on its feet by spending my money on STUFF this Christmas season! I am a human follower of my Savior Jesus, and my purpose and priorities are dictated to me by Him, not by Wall Street or Hollywood, Madison Avenue or People Magazine. As a disciple of Christ, I know that my life is to look different--somehow--from the lives of those around me who do not yet know Jesus. As Christmas approaches, I believe we have a unique window of opportunity to make the reality of Jesus known in ways that are more difficult to do during the rest of the year (during ordinary time). To myself I say: What can I do during Advent and Christmas to make my love for Jesus more apparent, and in a manner that clearly demonstrates the peace, the hope, and the quiet confidence that is mine because of my relationship with my Lord?

With the celebration of “Christ the King” Sunday (my preference of the three designations!), the Church Year comes to an end, which of course parallels what will happen at the end of all time when Christ returns as King, in all His glory.

A new Church Year begins this Sunday, November 30th, with the first Sunday of Advent (“coming”). This is a solemn time of anticipation and preparation for the different comings of Christ: first as a baby in Bethlehem, today in an ongoing way through word and sacrament, and finally in the victorious second coming of Christ in judgment and grace. Most of you reading this blogpost understand this season of the Church Year quite well because we observe it every year at church. Will you join me in making this Advent and Christmas season somehow different? More relaxed, more consciously focused on Jesus, more simple--”meek and lowly,” as the Christmas carol puts it? The December issue of the “Covenant Companion” has some wonderful helps for slowing down, re-focusing, and keeping a right spiritual perspective during Advent. Let’s get caught up in the grand story--God’s story--that is at the heart of our celebration of Jesus’ birth, rather than in the shallow story that our culture proclaims at this time of year. Let’s make “Jesus is the reason for the season” more than a Christian cliché. Let’s make it a reality as we enter this time of anticipation and preparation during Advent. Let’s keep our focus on how we are part of God’s ultimate plan and purpose, especially on how the redemption of all humankind was accomplished through the incarnation of our Lord Jesus as a tiny baby in a manger in Bethlehem long ago.


Now that’s something to celebrate!

“Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel has come to thee, O Israel!”