By Pastor Kyle Smith
Ellendale
Happy New Year! Yes, you read that right, happy new year. True, the new year as we know it according to the Gregorian Calendar starts on January 1st, but according to the Church Year, the new year starts on the first Sunday of Advent, which falls on December 3rd this year. That may lead you to ask, “Why would we, as a church, have our own Church Year?” Because of it’s great number of benefits for us!
To start, the Church Year has been observed by most Christians throughout the world since the 3rd or 4th century and is still observed by most Christians around the world today. What a legacy! As we observe Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Ash Wednesday, Lent, Holy (Maundy) Thursday, Good Friday, Easter, Pentecost, Trinity, Reformation Day, All Saints’ Day, and Christ the King Sunday (as well as others), we are following in the footsteps of the faithful saints who have gone before us as well as keeping in step with most Christians around the world - what a joy to have such unity!
In light of the incarnation of Christ and the resurrection of His body, the Christian faith is not out of touch with our human experiences of earthly life and our personal relationships. In fact, the Church Year demonstrates a powerful connection in this regard and beautifully catechizes us in the full range of human dispositions and emotions. In Advent, for example, we learn the Christian perspective on anticipation, expectation, and patient waiting. During Lent, we are schooled in what remorse, repentance, and reconciliation are really all about. And with Easter, we are brought into the unbounded joy and gladness of genuine freedom, divine peace, and Sabbath rest, and we find confidence, courage, and strength in the fulfillment of God’s promises in Christ. The Church Year has the power to comfort and encourage the depressed, the negligent, and the bored. It gives our individual experiences a shared theological context.
Some Christians consider the Church Year to be old and traditional, and in a way, they are right. But the Church Year being old and traditional is not a weakness; it is a strength. How wonderful it is to be able to join in with Christians from all times and all places in the same rhythm of the Church Year!
How do you know when there’s a special day or a new season during the church year? Colors! Have you noticed the material hanging off the altar, lectern, and pulpit that occasionally changes? Those are called, “paraments.” Do you notice how the stole around my neck changes color to match the paraments? That’s to keep in step with the season of the Church Year, and so, whenever you see the paraments change, you know there is a new season or a special day in the Church Year.
And so, I encourage you to notice the color of paraments used during the service and follow along with the whole church as we continue through the church season. With that being said, I’m sure you know we are about to enter into the season of Advent beginning the first Sunday of the month, followed by the Christmas Season, which lasts for 10 days. And as we enter these first two season of the year, let us keep in mind what these seasons are for, an extra focus on the promises of Scripture being fulfilled by the Word putting on flesh and dwelling among us - not to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many. May you be blessed as you remember God’s love for you in Christ Jesus this Advent and Christmas season.