COLUMBIA, Mo. (ABP) — When does the new year begin? For Christians observing the church calendar, it began with the start of Advent on Dec. 2.
The traditional Christian season of Advent, which begins four Sundays before Christmas, is to its proponents a time of preparation and anticipation of the birth of Christ. More importantly, it's part of an overarching liturgical year that gives an “orderly way to look at the full scope of Christian themes in a year-long fashion,” according to John Baker, pastor of First Baptist Church in Columbia, Mo.
The traditional Protestant Christian calendar consists of five other seasons in addition to Advent: Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter and Pentecost. It also includes 12 festival days: Christmas, the Name of Jesus, Epiphany, the Lord's Baptism, the Lord's Transfiguration, Easter, Ascension, Pentecost, Trinity Day, Reformation Day, All Saints' Day, and Christ the King Day.
Currently in the middle of celebrating Advent, and anticipating the other seasons of the church calendar, Greg Lundberg likened the holy days to a celebration.
“If you're going to have a party, you don't just decide that day,” said Lundberg, associate pastor of music and worship at Kirkwood Baptist Church near St. Louis. “You put a lot of energy into the event. You prepare food, activities, decorations and gifts or favors for the guests. You want to make it special. That's what's so special about Advent. It's a time set aside to prepare.”
Baker said preparation was the key. “We try not to get to the birth [of Jesus] too soon,” he said. “It is hard, but it builds the anticipation.”
Leaders of Baker's congregation set the stage for anticipation by carefully selecting Christmas hymns and carols that pertain to the expectation of Christ's coming. First Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., celebrates in a similar way.
“Advent begins in darkness, with the flame of hope sputtering on its charred wick,” Pastor Jim Somerville wrote in a recent edition of the church's newsletter. “We sing out hymns in minor keys. We drape the church in purple. But as the other [Advent] candles are lit in the weeks that follow –peace and joy and love — the sense of expectancy is heightened, and when the Christ candle is lit on Christmas Eve, the mood shifts suddenly and dramatically.
“The house lights come up. Deep purple is replaced by dazzling white and gold. The minor key modulates into the major, and suddenly it is nothing but joy to the world, for the Lord is come!”
After the initial joy of Advent, the 12 days of Christmas begin Dec. 25 and are followed by Epiphany, which celebrates the revelation of Jesus to humanity and the visit of the Magi, or Wise Men.
On the heels of Epiphany comes Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent. Observed as a 40-day time of preparation for the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, Lent culminates in Holy Week and Easter.
Each holy day ties into the others — Christmas would be meaningless if not for Easter, Baker said: “Easter is the high holy day of the Christian year. It far supersedes Christmas in importance.”
After Easter comes Pentecost, signifying the coming of the Holy Spirit and birthday of the church, while the rest of the year consists of “ordinary time,” which lasts until the next Advent begins.
“Ordinary” does not mean the time is common or plain — the term refers to “ordinal” or numbered days. Indeed, the season includes special-emphasis days like Trinity Sunday and All Saints' Day.
Many Baptist churches do not adhere to the entirety of the liturgical calendar, although a growing number are adopting the practice. Robin Sandbothe, director of academic programming and spirituality at Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Shawnee, Kan., said incorporating the church year in worship is profoundly meaningful.
“I did not grow up observing [the Christian calendar] — other than Christmas and Easter,” she said. “I was first exposed to its fullness in seminary. The connection it provides to both the church around the world and the church historically has an almost mystical significance for me — no ‘almost' about it, really. I'm drawn to the contemplative nature of the seasons' observances.”
In Somerville's case, he began implementing the church calendar into worship during an earlier pastorate. He had previously followed the Southern Baptist Convention's denominational preaching calendar, but when he saw Palm Sunday labeled as “start-a-church commitment Sunday,” he lost interest.
“Not that there is anything wrong with starting a church,” he emphasized. “It just shouldn't be the theme of Palm Sunday.”
Besides the holy days, observers of the liturgical year sometimes follow the lectionary, a cycle of Scripture readings that takes participants through almost the entire Bible in a three-year period. Baker said he uses the device because it helps ensure that he covers the entirety of Scripture in his sermons.
“We tend to get caught in the things we like most,” he said. “The lectionary helps make sure I don't preach my own canon.”
Somerville said the lectionary also ensures that Scripture is present in each service. Each week's readings include a passage each from the Old Testament, the Psalms, the gospels and the epistles.
Leaders at First Baptist Church in Washington read all four passages out loud in each Sunday-morning worship service. So, Somerville said, if someone attended church there for three years straight, they would hear most of the Bible read aloud.
Of course, he added, keeping the symbols and traditions fresh each year can be a struggle — but it's a struggle many churches have whether or not they follow the church year.
“People know what I'm going to say on Easter: ‘Christ is risen,'” he said. “Finding new ways to say that is hard. But then, it's hard to have a bad Easter.”
Ultimately, it comes down to how you plan worship, he said.
“Do you plan sermons based on a denominational emphasis, the life in your community at that point, or how the Spirit moves on Saturday night?” he asked. “The church year is at least as legitimate as those methods, and perhaps more intentional than some. I'd find it hard to go back to another method.”
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