Wedged between the festival season of the liturgical calendar and Ordinary Time is a Sunday devoted to the concept of the Holy Trinity. This day acts as a theological seam between the two halves of the Church Year. The Holy Trinity is the concept that God has been revealed to us in three distinct ways, […]
Tag: Christianity
On the Spirit of Pentecost
The midway point of the Church Calendar is marked with the holy day of Pentecost. On this day, Christians that honor liturgical traditions celebrate the receiving of the Holy Spirit. The most common story told on this day comes from the gospel writer Luke’s sequel: The Acts of the Apostles. The gospel text attributed to […]
On the Expansive Gospel
The season of Easter ends with a celebration of Jesus’ ascension. It’s another mountaintop moment of the Church Year and a fitting transition into Pentecost and the mindset that we should live with during the long stretch of Ordinary Time that lies ahead. The various gospel narratives all handle the last moments of Jesus’ earthly […]
On Clarification
The liturgical three-year cycle of gospel readings centers on the synoptic gospel texts of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Meanwhile, the gospel account attributed to the apostle John gets spread across all three years, with particular devotion designated annually during the seven-week season of Easter. Among the varying gospels, John is the most debated—from who really […]
On the Good Shepherd
One of my favorite “Easter eggs” of Eastertide is Good Shepherd Sunday. Nowadays often the fourth Sunday of Easter, this Christian sabbath day is all about the imagery of our Lord as a shepherd and we humans as the sheep. It is imagery that is rooted in the Old Testament scriptures (most famously, Psalm 23) […]
On Easter Morning
Oh happy day to outshine all other happy days! The Lord is risen! The Lord is risen, indeed! It’s easy to think that Christianity revolves around the crucifixion, however it is really anchored in the resurrection. Jesus’ celebrated triumph over the dead is the greatest mystery of them all and the greatest hope for humanity […]
On the Cross
In many newly built or recently renovated Christian worship spaces these days you will often discover something missing from the contemporary design: a cross or crucifix. In its place usually is a giant screen and stagecraft used for pop concerts. Ironically, many of these churches have strong stances against “the progressive agenda” and yet when […]
On the Table
The Lord’s Supper (also referred to as Holy Communion or the Eucharist) is venerated on Maundy Thursday, as we remember when Jesus first instituted this sacrament during his final Passover Seder. (Side note: The responses I received from my reflection on Maundy Thursday last year inspired this current year-long series on the Church Year.) For […]
On Happy Days
If the Liturgical Calendar is a rollercoaster of sorts, Holy Week is when the most number of corkscrews, loops, drops, and twists occur. The week starts, though, with a smile as we ride up the lift-hill. Jesus enters Jerusalem for Passover, welcomed as a conquering hero. He rides a colt symbolizing peace while crowds gather […]
On the Paschal Moon
Have you ever noticed that there is always a full moon around the lead up to Easter? That is by design and this specific full moon is called the Paschal Moon. The date of Easter is determined by a somewhat cumbersome calculation: the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal (spring) equinox, […]
Relevant Reformation 