Already I have
been witnessing Christmas decorations going up in the stores, and all I can
think of is, “ITS NOT CHRISTMAS YET”. Thanksgiving and advent haven’t even come
yet. Thanksgiving was plenty early for
me as a kid to get all excited about Christmas, and now stores are trying to
make up for more conservative shoppers by pummeling them with Christmas
shopping before they have even had a chance to buy after Halloween candy at
half price. It is no wonder that the
message of Christmas is being lost in the hustle and bustle of Christmas
preparation.
This is what
makes observing the church year so valuable, because it gives the year a
structure that is centered on Jesus’ life and his teachings. Each season contains a different focus that
emphasizes a different part of his life or teaching that provides a full look
at who Jesus is over the course of a year.
Even Advent, which comes before Jesus’ birth in the church year, helps
us to understand Jesus’ life through the stories of John the Baptist and the
predictions of Jesus’ coming. We see
Jesus through his life as a baby through Adulthood and also after the
resurrection. By using this focus, it
helps prevent a one sided view of Jesus as his miracles, parables and teachings
come out throughout the year, as seen in his teachings. This also simplifies the year, by not having
to decide what parts of Jesus’ teachings and ministry to cover in the Gospel
lesson from week to week because they are all spread out in a carefully planned
order, in order to present the full teachings of Jesus.
The use of the Liturgical year
helps the modern church connect to the historical church through the passing
down of simple traditions. The church
year did not spring up overnight, but slowly grew and evolved to help shape the
worship of the church. Easter was the
first and most prominent season, because of the early church’s focus was upon
the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
That mortal focus helped remind Christians each year of the salvific
work that Jesus accomplished through his death on the cross and his
resurrection from the tomb. The rest of
the year grew from the leading into and from Easter, giving the actions of Holy
Week more context to Christians. By
going through the entire narrative of Jesus’ life the historic church was
simply reading through the Gospel week to week.
This structure comes from the texts that we profess and it is good,
right, and beneficial that we let the texts guide our worship life.
As we go through this November,
we should remember Christmas and the joy that came on that first Christmas day,
but we should remember that we have more than a day, we have an entire year
that remembers the blessings and teachings of God in Christ Jesus.
God’s Blessings
Vicar Shupe
