The Christian Year

Why follow the Christian Year?

Recently I have been thinking on the benefits of following the Christian year in our churches. In the evangelical tradition I am part of the emphasis has traditionally been placed on systematic expository preaching through books (or sections of books) of the Bible, Sunday-by-Sunday, with little emphasis given to the Christian calendar except for Christmas and Easter.

Some have argued that there is no biblical justification for following a set pattern of festivals throughout the year marking the significant events of Jesus' life, death and resurrection or significant milestones in the life of the Church. Two things might be said in reply to this. First, there is biblical justification for marking significant events in the story of the people of God by special days and festivals because that is exactly what God commanded Israel to do in the Old Testament and the for the very same reason: so they would not forget their story as a people. There seems to me to be a good case to be made for taking this biblical principle and applying it to the story of God's people in the New Testament, though since the New Testament is not explicit about this, there must be liberty of opinion allowed in this matter. Never again should there be shameful days when one part of the Church would persecute another part of the Church because one part would or would not observe significant days in the Christian calendar. Second though, to those evangelical brothers and sisters who are suspicious of the Christian year and favour systematic expository preaching Sunday by Sunday, the point needs to be made that it is no more commanded in the Bible that we preach through whole books of the Bible or sections of larger books week by week than it is that we follow the Christian seasons in the traditional church calendar. Both are ways of organising the teaching schedule for the church; neither is laid down in Scripture as the right way.

Yet beyond these negative reasons for not prohibiting following the Christian year I think there are also a number of positive reasons why churches might consider following at least the basic pattern of the Christian year. In doing so we are following a rich tradition that has at least the wisdom of many generations of believers behind it. Let's look at a few of the arguments.

First, if we follow the Christian year there is a natural and welcome tendency to focus directly on the life and teachings of Jesus and the key events in the life of Christ's people, the Church. The Christian year is basically marked by reference to the key events in the life of Christ: his birth, his death, his resurrection and his ascension, the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and the birth of the community of believers. Following the Christian year keeps Jesus and his life and teachings centre stage in our thinking. This is not always the case when pursuing a long series of expository sermons from the Old Testament or on other themes chosen by an individual minister or pastor.

Second, following the Christian year is a demonstration of the unity we share with Christians from many different churches and theological traditions. The Christian year can be a tool to remind us that we are part of a worldwide family and it fosters a sense of unity to be thinking of similar themes throughout the year with a large number of other believers. It gives us a sense that the whole church is sharing in worship together at particular times of the year. This is especially the case if the church is using a lectionary for readings shared across denominations.

Third, following the Christian year gives a pattern to our worship through the year and from year to year. For many people there is great comfort and spiritual benefit in the cycle of observing the great festivals of Christmas and Easter which focus on the two great truths of Christianity - that God became incarnate and came to earth in the man Jesus of Nazareth and that through his sacrificial death and rising from the dead he is shown to be the Lord and Saviour of the world.

Having grown up in a church which did tend to follow the basic pattern of the traditional year, with the addition of other "set days" like Mothering Sunday, Harvest Thanksgiving, Remembrance Sunday and Christian Aid Week I find it difficult at times to now be in a fellowship where such things are either totally ignored or perhaps briefly mentioned to the children but do not often form the backdrop to the sermon.

Perhaps this just means I am more of a traditionalist than I thought. There is benefit to working systematically through "the whole counsel of God". All Scripture is God-breathed and so all Scripture should be read and preached through in church services. That's agreed. But it should be possible to combine systematic expository preaching with marking the significant days in the Christian year. This is particularly the case if a church has two services on a Sunday, where different patterns could be used for morning and evening worship.

What is the Christian Year?

The Christian year begins in late November or early December with Advent and then runs through to twelve months, ending with Christ the King Sunday just before the beginning of the following advent. The seasons and significant days are shown in the following picture:

Advent

In the Christian year, "New Year's Day" is Advent Sunday, which is always fourth Sunday before Christmas and so it can occur be the last Sunday in November or the first Sunday in December. The season of advent follows, which focuses on waiting for the coming of the Messiah, whether that be his first coming as a baby or his second coming as Lord of glory

Christmas

Advent ends on Christmas Eve and then comes the Christmas season or Christmastide, the twelve days of Christmas, beginning on 25th December with Christmas Day and running through the (secular) new year to the evening of 5th January ("Twelfth Night"). This joyful time marks the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem and the coming of "the Saviour, who is Christ the Lord." (Luke 2:11). Christmas Day is, along with Easter, one of the two greatest days of the Christian year. The Christmas period either includes one or two Sundays depending on what day of the week Christmas Day falls.

Epiphany

After Christmastide comes Epiphany on 6th January. The word "epiphany" comes from the Greek and means "manifestation" or "significant appearing". This festival celebrates the revelation of God in the person of Jesus Christ and particularly the fact that God came to earth for all the nations of the world. This was shown in visit of the Wise Men recorded in Matthew 2 which is usually the focus of Epiphany Bible readings. In some churches epiphany is celebrated on the nearest Sunday to the 6th January instead of on the 6th.

Ordinary Time
 
The Sunday after Epiphany is usually used to mark the Baptism of Jesus and the beginning of his public ministry. This jump from his birth to his baptism is in line with the same jump found in the Gospel narratives. The period after this is the first period of so-called "Ordinary Time" in the Christian year. "Ordinary" in this sense has the same root as "ordinal" and means "counted" period. This period of Ordinary time lasts until Shrove Tuesday and can include anywhere from three to eight Sundays depending on when Easter falls in a given year. In terms of the secular calendar, this period occurs from January to either February or March. The teaching during this period usually focuses on Christ's earthly ministry and his teachings in parables.The last day of Ordinary Time is Shrove Tuesday.

Lent

Lent is a period of forty days between Ash Wednesday and the Saturday before Easter (although there are actually 46 days between Ash Wednesday and Easter, the six Sundays are not part of Lent). Lent is a period of re-dedication to God and solemn preparation for Easter through prayer, repentance, self-denial and giving to the poor and needy. The teaching focus during Lent is on Christ's life of dedication to his Father's will and his sacrificial giving of himself on the cross. The forty day period is reminiscent of Israel's 40 year wandering in the wilderness and Christ's 40 days of fasting and temptation in the desert. Many Christians will give up certain luxuries as a token of self-denial and reliance on God (often giving the money that would have been spent to charities working with the poor).

Passiontide and Holy Week

The last two weeks of the Lent period is known as Passiontide and Passion Sunday (the fifth Sunday of Lent) traditionally focuses on the atonement made by Christ on the cross. Passion here refers to Christ's sufferings on behalf of believers.

The final week of Lent is usually known as Holy Week. Beginning on Palm Sunday when Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem at the beginning of his last week on earth is commemorated. The following days of Holy Week tie in with the events recorded in the Gospels during this week. The week comes to a climax on Maundy Thursday, the day that Christ celebrated the Last Supper with his disciples and then Good Friday itself which commemorates Christ's crucifixion. Holy Week ends with the Saturday during which Christ was dead and buried in the tomb.
 
Easter

Easter Day is the most important day of the Christian year. It is the Sunday when the whole church celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The dates of most Christian days and seasons are determined in relation to Easter which is a "movable feast" meaning its date varies from year to year. The date of Easter itself is determined by a very complicated method relating to the full moon near the vernal equinox, but it can be any date from 22 March through to 25 April. This means that in the Northern Hemisphere, Easter comes during the spring season when the land changes from the death of winter and new life comes to the world, which makes a striking backdrop to the new life that comes through Christ.

Easter Day marks the beginning of the Eastertide period or "Great Fifty Days" that run from Easter Day through to Pentecost or Whitsunday. Eastertide is a fifty day celebration of the resurrection. The period corresponds to the fifty days in the Gospels and Acts between Christ's resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. It includes Ascension Day which is always on a Thursday, exactly 40 days after Easter.

The teaching themes in this period typically focus on Christ's resurrection and ascension and the implication of these great truths for the people of God.

Pentecost

Pentecost (which means "Fiftieth Day" in Greek as it occurs fifty days or seven weeks after Easter). Pentecost is also known as Whitsunday. It is the day when the church celebrates the coming of the Holy Spirit. Pentecost always occurs in May or June.

Ordinary Time and Kingdomtide

The second period of Ordinary Time begins the day after Pentecost in May or June and runs right through to the day before Advent Sunday in late November or early December.

The first Sunday of this period, a week after Pentecost, is called Trinity Sunday and the church's teaching focuses on the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, that the one true God exists as three persons. Other significant dates within this period include All Saints' Day on 1st November, which, in Protestant terms, marks the unity between all Christians (who are all "saints") and the bond between the church militant on earth and the church triumphant in heaven, and Christ the King Sunday which is the last Sunday of the Christian year and focuses on Christ's lordship over his church and the world.

In some parts of the church, the second half of the Ordinary Time period, from the Sunday nearest 31st August through to Christ the King Sunday is known as Kingdomtide and focuses on the concept of the Kingdom of God and the reign of Christ on earth and heaven with all that is implied by that for the world in spiritual, missional and political terms including the need for social justice in the world. Although Kingdomtide is not commonly observed now as a distinct period, I think there is good reason for reviving this season in the church calendar.

As well as these traditional church days and seasons, many churches also observe a number of other annual events and festivals. Among these would typically be in the UK a focus on international aid during Christian Aid Week in May, Harvest Thanksgiving in September or October, Remembrance Sunday in November. Some Protestant churches also have Bible Sunday on the last Sunday in October or perhaps they may mark the beginning of the Protestant Reformation on 31st October.