On the Calendar

I have come to really appreciate the seasons of the church year—Advent, Epiphany, Lent, Holy Week, Easter, Pentecost and Ordinary Time. These are the primary seasons of the Liturgical Calendar that I hope to reflect on over the next year in this series of writings.

Growing up in the American evangelical church, I used to only think about select seasons of the church year, since most such churches view the Liturgical Calendar as a “Catholic thing” and often actively push against it. Some of these critics cite that the traditional calendar and its customs hold back the Holy Spirit from working freely through pastors and churches.

When I started going to a Lutheran church, I discovered many wonders and blessings when centering worship practices around the Liturgical Calendar. It has helped deepen my faith and filled me with the Spirit in ways I did not expect.

While this is not meant to be an outright repudiation of American evangelicalism, I do wonder how many others may not realize what they are missing when they only celebrate Christmas, Easter, and sometimes Advent, for fear of stale church customs. At the same time, for those of us who embrace the church seasons, we must always remember that these traditions should always lead us to a relevant faith for today, and we must constantly renew our practices by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Right now we are in the relatively short season of Advent and I’ll be exploring what that means soon. Throughout this series, I will not have time to discuss all the traditional customs and practices of each season. (Maybe I’ll touch on a few here and there.) I will also not have time to address the many “lesser” festivals and saint appreciation days on the calendar. (Perhaps a series for a later time.) The primary point will be to reflect on the deeper meanings of each season and how these truths can enrich our faith and direct our actions as we seek to follow Christ and do the Eternal Kingdom work towards which we are called.

Before we begin, it is important for me to disclaim that I’ll be rooting my reflections in the Lutheran Liturgical Calendar primarily, since that is my primary practice. And in the liturgical cycles there are three years of readings, each one focusing on one of the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke) with John’s text sprinkled throughout (mostly during Mark’s year). This is the year of Luke technically, however my reflections may bounce between the gospel narratives to provide a broader understanding of each season.

Now, all introductions and disclaimers aside, let’s begin…