By R. Kevin Johnson
Late November is time to make a figurative turn to the beginning of the Christian storybook and another year in God’s service. The calendar I follow all year begins four Sundays before Christmas and sets me on a renewed journey of faith that at once excites me and again leads me to gaze awestruck at a savior whose life was and is nothing short of amazing.
My appreciation for the Christian calendar began as a child in the Baptist church where my earliest spiritual formation took place. Our pastoral staff added a lighted wreath to the ritual of worship during those days leading up to the birth of Christ. By the conclusion of the season that church leaders said was called “Advent,” I had a much more exciting perspective on Christmas.
During the years that followed, I learned that there was much more to the Christian calendar than four Advent Sundays and Christmas day. In fact, what I learned changed the way I perceive and practice faith. It helped me to make better sense of my own existence by walking in the steps of Christ.
The Christian year is designed by season to trace the life and ministry of Jesus, his death, burial and resurrection, and the hope of his coming again to redeem his people. Therefore, the Christian calendar should be viewed as a reflection of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. The feasts and fasts celebrated in Roman Catholic and Orthodox traditions are omitted from Protestant church calendars; however, the basic structure of the Christian year is common to all traditions.
Many churches follow a lectionary, a three-year cycle of scriptural texts providing an Old Testament lesson, a Psalm, a New Testament lesson, and a Gospel lesson for each Sunday in the Christian year. In the Christian denominations and churches that use a lectionary, ministry is enhanced through the emphasis on the major themes of the Christian story told over the course of a calendar year. It is delightful to know that, on any given week, Christians of all stripes around the globe are uniting around a common theme or purpose. This solidarity of Christian faith is remarkable given the divided nature of our existence as citizens of the world.
Of utmost importance during the Christian year is the rehearsal of those events in the salvation story that gives the children of God hope and eternal assurance during less celebratory times. Beginning with Advent, Christians are reminded that prophets of old told of a Messiah who would come to be the savior of humankind.
At Christmas we celebrate the birth of that Messiah.
Epiphany allows Christians the opportunity to commemorate the revelation of Christ to the world and the visit of the magi to the Christ child.
Throughout Lent, we are able to realize both the divine and human natures of Jesus as he teaches, pleads, suffers and dies.
The Easter season prompts us to celebrate the glorious resurrection of the Lord Jesus.
At Pentecost we sing a rousing chorus of Happy Birthday to the church as we celebrate the manifestation of the Holy Spirit and his ministry to us until Christ comes again to claim the children of God for eternity.
These highlighted events are just a few in a treasure-trove of devotional profundity that made a grand impact and prompted many fruitful seasons of spiritual growth in my life as a Christian and as a minister. These events are the times that give us eternal hope and sustain us when journeying through long seasons of waiting with the Lord for the triumphant Christ as we look forward to his second coming.
As we walk through this year together and examine the Christian story more closely, I pray that each of us will become more intimately aware of the gift of salvation that is ours because of Christ. Indeed, the story is ours to claim.