February 17, 2023
Time and Season
What time is it? If you are asking for the time of day, it depends on your time zone. If you are asking what day or season it is, it depends on what calendar you are referencing. If you are using the “typical” calendar, you will be reading this on Friday, February 17. But if you were using the sports calendar this would be the Friday after the Super Bowl and the end of the first week of spring training for pitchers and catchers. If you are using the church calendar, this would be the last Friday in Epiphany, two days before Transfiguration Sunday, and four days before Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. All of these answers are correct, each in their own frame of reference.
Our problem with time is that we juggle any number of calendars simultaneously. This is why life gets so hectic; different calendars are telling us what is important simultaneously. For a church like ours which follows the church year, this is especially true during Advent. At that time, the cultural calendar around us is telling us it is Christmas season and it will end on December 25. So hurry up and get festive: there is so much to watch and to listen to, people to shop and bake for, and parties to attend and host, and, of course, so much to decorate. The church calendar is saying at the same time, be patient in awaiting Christ’s second advent and reflect on how those waited for Christ’s first advent. Also, Christmas will start at (in general terms) sunset on December 24th and won’t end until January 5. (Unless you are Orthodox, then Christmas beings at sunset on the 5th!)
The point is, what we are doing in our worship through the seasons of the church year isn’t always obvious or doesn’t match well what is happening in the rest of our lives. Further, most of us don’t connect our lives with the rhythms of the church year, because we have been taught so little about it. I hope to make this all a bit more accessible and simple for you all. Let’s see how I do.
The church year has two halves. I am going to talk about the first half: the story of Jesus. This story begins member those who waited for Christ’s first coming (his birth) as we wait for his second coming (Advent), then moves to from his birth up to his baptism (Christmas), on to his ministry in Galilee (Epiphany), to his journey to Jerusalem and his last week in Jerusalem (Lent), to his resurrection and ascension (Easter). We mark each of these seasons by using different colors on our pulpit and stoles. The texts chosen for each Sunday or Holy Day are chosen to help tell that story and to help us understand where we are in the year (or in the story).
Let’s think about the season of Epiphany that is now ending. What we call the season of Epiphany begins on the Day of Epiphany, which is always January 6. It celebrates the arrival of the Magi in Bethlehem when Jesus was about 2. The next two Sundays celebrate other manifestations of God’s revelation (epiphany) in Jesus’ early ministry. In particular, his baptism and his first miracle at the wedding feast at Cana. January 6 and the two Sundays that follow, we wear white to remind us of these special revelations. The rest of the season of Epiphany we wear green. These Sundays draw our attention to Jesus’ ministry in Galilee, his teachings and his miracles. These are more “ordinary” activities of Jesus—to the extent that anything about Jesus is ordinary. On the last Sunday in Epiphany we consider the conclusion of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee which culminates in his Transfiguration. This coming Sunday is Transfiguration Sunday, and we wear white for one last time until Easter, because this is one last epiphany before Jesus heads to Jerusalem.
In the synoptic gospels, Jesus goes from the Mount of Transfiguration to Jerusalem where he will be executed. On the way, Jesus teaches his followers what his fate will be, and what the expectations are for being one of his followers. So next Wednesday we will mark the beginning of our journey with Jesus to the cross, to assess again this year how well we are living into our call to follow Jesus. This of course is the season of Lent.
On the one hand, all of this is a trivial pursuit, you might say. On the other, Christians have been following the rhythms of the church year for centuries, adjusting them as we go, because they break up the themes of the scripture and the themes of our lives into seasons for us to consider them. At their best, each season provides us with a way to pray through the circumstances of our lives: waiting, preparing, celebrating, grieving, and so on.
I invite you to allow each of our worship services to take you into a season different from what the calendar on your desktop or wall is telling you, and use it to help you grow in your journey as a disciple of Christ, empowered by the Spirit, and trusting in God’s unswerving care. I would even suggest you might take Sunday’s bulletin home with you, and reflect on the scriptures, hymns, prayers as you transition into Lent on Wednesday, and do the same with that bulletin until the next Sunday. This simple addition to your devotional life will help you be mindful of the story of Christ as it unfolds, and how it invites a different perspective on the world around you.
Blessings on you all in this time of transition between now and next week’s Vine, from epiphany to penitence.
~ Pastor Todd