In the Beauty of Holiness
St. Michael’s Midweek Enrichment Program
Week 7: The Church Calendar
Chris Luyt
The Church Calendar has, down through the years, been a powerful
reminder of the significant junctions in the life of Jesus and the early
church. This is not just regarding His earthly life though; throughout the
calendar, aspects of His infinity and divinity break through as a powerful
reminder that our faith is real, extensive and mysterious.
Like all other symbols of the ancient Christian tradition, the Church
Calendar (or Liturgical Year), enriches our spiritual walk if we allow
ourselves, the time, attention and discipline to explore it.
Liturgical Seasons & Major Festivals
The liturgical year is divided into seven ‘seasons’, separated by junctions
called holy festivals. There used to be just six seasons, but recently, the
church has included a season for Creation. The seven seasons are:
Advent – the season of anticipation. During Advent, we celebrate Jesus’
coming in two ways – as the returning King of Kings (at the end of all
things); and as His coming into the world as a baby (the beginning of His
life on earth). Advent therefore marks both the beginning and the end of
the liturgical year. Advent begins on the forth Sunday before Christmas
(generally at the end of Nov/beginning Dec). In these four weeks we
consider the story of Jesus’ birth and all that preceded it. The liturgical
colour is purple, signifying royalty.
Christmas – the season of reception. The Christmas season begins on
Christmas Eve and extends to the eve of the Epiphany (around 5 January).
The emphasis is on God’s incarnation into our humanness – through the
birth of Jesus. The liturgical colour is white or gold signifying purity and
the divine. The season includes the Christmas festival.
Epiphany - the season of personal growth. Epiphany extends from 6th
January to Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday (the
beginning of Lent). In this season we follow the early life of Jesus up till
the time of His entry into ministry (at age 30). The liturgical colour for
Epiphany is green – signifying growth and new life. Among others,
significant days of commemoration during this season include the
Circumcision, Baptism and Presentation of Christ at the temple
(Candlemas).
Lent – the season of penitence, pain and death. In our modern culture,
guilt, pain and death are very unpopular things to consider.
Unfortunately, to avoid these is to live an illusion. Lent (a kind of spiritual
winter) helps us to focus on the difficult aspects of life as we journey with
Jesus into the desert. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. We then journey
with Jesus through His rejection towards the cross. In Lent we consider
our sinfulness and addictions, and the emptiness that comes from the
world’s resistance of God. Lent, from Palm Sunday, gives rise to Holy
Week (the week preceding Easter) and finds its climax in the 3-hour
service on Good Friday where we commemorate the crucifixion. Maundy
Thursday and Holy Saturday are also observed at this time – together
with Good Friday and The Great Easter Vigil, these form what is called the
Triduum). The liturgical colour for Lent is purple – signifying coldness,
darkness, sadness and penitence.
Easter (Eastertide) – the season of rebirth/resurrection. Easter Day
(which marks the beginning of Eastertide) falls on the first Sunday
following the full moon falling on or next after 21 March. Incidentally, this
is around the time of one of the two annual equinoxes – the equinoxes
are the points in the year where the sun is most directly over the earth
(i.e. the earth’s poles are not tilted). It is quite fitting that the sun and the
moon determine the start of probably the most important liturgical
season as this, among other things, is exactly what they were created to
do (Gen. 1:14-19; Ps. 89:28-29, 35-37). Eastertide is a kind of spiritual
spring, where having been tempered/pruned/moulded by Lent, we can
move on to authentic (i.e. less ego, more selflessness) spiritual
productivity. The liturgical colour for Eastertide is white – signifying life,
light and purity.
Eastertide ends with the celebration of the Ascension.
Season after Pentecost – the season of corporate growth. True spiritual
growth can never be an individual thing. We must grow as individuals (which we
consider and celebrate in Epiphany), but all our personal growth must contribute
to our corporate growth which is the heart of the kingdom of God. Before we are
of real value to others within the church (the Body of Christ), we must be
tempered, pruned, groomed by God so we can produce good and abundant
relational fruit. Our spirituality is not about our personal success.
The season after Pentecost is the season granted to us to produce genuine fruit
in our relationships with others – both those who know and love God and those
who are estranged from God and the church. It is therefore a time of intense
pastoral care and evangelism. Other significant commemorations during this
time include Pentecost, Whit Sunday, Trinity Sunday, Corpus Christi and The
Transfiguration. The liturgical colour for this season is therefore green –
signifying growth, life and productivity. This season is a kind of spiritual summer.
As this season draws to a close (Kingdomtide or ‘Little Advent’), we hope to
celebrate a communal spiritual harvest in the church in anticipation of Advent –
the return of the King (consider Matthew 25).
The Season of Creation - a season for the celebration and preservation of
creation. This new church season will run from the 1st September to St. Francis
Day (4 October) – which, of course, is fitting seeing that St. Francis has always
been closely associated with nature and animals. In this season we as a church
will consider, more carefully, the multi-faceted beauty of nature as well as our
responsibility, in our everyday lives, to preserve it.
Other Festivals & Special Days of Commemoration
Down through the years, the church has also commemorated special Christians
(saints) – those that have lived exemplary lives as an example for us to follow.
Because every person is different, the various saints have come to represent
different aspects of spirituality. The apostles, of course, and Mary, Jesus’ mother,
Mary Magdalene and other key role-players in the early church, are very
important, and many of their days of commemoration are also festivals. Some
apostles have additional days which relate to aspects of their lives – like Peter’s
confession and Paul’s conversion. Many saints are remembered and honoured even contemporary saints like, for example, the 19th century martyr Bernard
Mizeki or the 20th century priest Peter Masiza.
Other commemorations include, for example, the Holy Innocents, All
Saints and St. Michael and All Angels, after which our church has been
named.
Fast Days & Special Days of Prayer
The calendar includes fast days (like the quarterly Ember days [the ‘fasts of the
four seasons’), and special days of prayer (e.g. World Environment Day, World
AIDS Day), to hone and focus our attention on various important aspects of life.
The various days of commemoration throughout the liturgical year act as yet
another vital (and continuing) anthology of Christian spirituality. They add colour,
texture and beauty to our faith, rooting it deeply in human history, experience
and reality. Most the details concerning the church calendar can be found in the
church lectionary.
Sources consulted:
Lectionary for the Anglican Prayer Book 2013-2014 (ACSA)
The Christian Calendar – Cowie & Gummer, 1974 (Weiderfield & Nicolson,
London)
Personal Reflection
1. Have you ever really considered the importance of the liturgical
calendar? Which liturgical season would you say you connect with
the most?
2. Do you think that in our ultra-modern, minimalistic era, we may
be in danger of losing out on a fuller human experience if we
simply disregard the detail of our past or even our present? How
could the church calendar help us maintain a balance in this
regard?
3. Do you see the connection between the liturgical calendar and
the seasons we find in nature? What aspect of this connection
speaks to you most?
4. How do you think colour and symbolism enhance our
appreciation for the beauty all around us? How does this help us
to worship God more?
5. How could symbolism endanger our worship of God?
6. How do you think the lives of the saints could benefit your own
spiritual walk? Do you have a specific saint that you have come to
enjoy and appreciate? Remember, these people, are alive and
well with the Lord right now. Do you grasp the fact that we are
connected with Christ, not just by His Spirit, but also through the
other Christians we engage. In what ways are the saints that have
gone before us able to make meaningful contributions to our
everyday walk with the Lord?
7. Have you ever tried to pay closer attention to the fast days and
days of special prayer in the church calendar? How does fasting
and praying for specific things contribute to our spiritual growth?