The Liturgical Calendar — An Introduction
Marking time as a means of spiritual formation
This is the first of several introductory posts concerning the liturgical calendar.
The liturgical calendar is an ancient tradition for the people of God. Of course, it has evolved and filled out over the years, but you can find its roots in the Old and New Testaments. The marking of time with feasts and festivals, with prayer and fasting. Establishing days of remembrance and regular times of worship goes back about as far as you can go in the Bible. Marking time in these ways is the norm for the people of God.
These days we mark time both in and out of our Christian context. We don’t question this way of life when it comes to our secular calendars. Birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, elections, national tragedies and triumphs all have a date of remembrance we mark on our calendar; sometimes we even set aside time, getting off of work and school to celebrate and/or remember the day at hand. Then there are the seasons—winter, spring, summer, fall. And if, like me, your Apple iCal keeps work, personal, family, kid events and more from being missed or forgotten altogether, the calendar attachment might go a little deeper than you would like!
Our lives are inextricably tied calendars.
When it comes to life as a Christian and the practices of the church, many folks become skeptical when we talk about the liturgical or church calendar. They see this as an old, even outdated practice that is really something those “Catholics” do. Many protestant, evangelical folks are skeptical and often don’t see the need or benefit of this type of time-telling. I was of that mindset for a long time. But along the way, God not only revealed the gift of the liturgical calendar to me but also the formative power as a Christian way of telling time and marking my days and seasons in ways shaped by the Church and not just the culture.
For me, it started in college. I was reading pastors and theologians like Robert Webber and Alexander Schmemman. I also picked up my first Book of Common Prayer. I started learning about seasons like Advent and Lent. The reality that, in order to fully celebrate days like Christmas and Easter, I needed to prepare my heart and mind, in order to feast I needed to fast. Eventually, I started sneaking into an Episcopal church for Ash Wednesday and quietly started observing Lenten disciplines like fasting and almsgiving. It wasn’t long before the seasons of Lent, Advent, Eastertide, and the others started to form and shape me, offering me concrete ways to mark time as a Christian, to be formed in the ways of Christ, and embody my faith and allegiance to the Kingdom of God.
I began to notice that each season had a focus and contained themes. I realized the things I was learning during these seasons were also ways of being and living that I needed to know in the various times and seasons of my life.
Advent was teaching me how to wait, prepare, be patient and present. I regularly run into seasons of life where the themes and practices of Advent help me navigate the longing and waiting I’m experiencing in vocational challenges or family turbulence. Lent was teaching me to take time for introspection, to rethink, realign, repent of ways I was thinking and acting that had become misaligned with Christ and his Kingdom. I have found myself in echo chambers, where my thinking was never questioned, where consumption and instant gratification were paramount. I was taught, implicitly as a young Christian, that difficulty and struggle are signs of sin, and if you want people to think you’re a good Christian, you better hide your struggle, mask your sorrow. In a season like Lent I’ve learned that there is a better way live!
Every season of the church calendar will eventually mirror a season of your life. When you have, every year, learned the lessons of the church calendar, you will be able to live those lessons when your everyday life needs them! This is the formation available and one of the great gifts of the liturgical calendar!
This is why I talk about Seasons to Live.
The truth is that every church follows the liturgical year to some extent. They celebrate Christmas and Easter, liturgical feast days! They might even acknowledge Pentecost or other special days found in the scripture or tradition. That’s often the extent of it. However, the rabbit hole goes so much deeper! The calendar of the church contains a wealth of days, seasons, and practices that can be a treasure for those on the transformational journey of following Jesus.
My invitation is always to look at the calendar of the church year as much as you look at the calendar on your fridge or in your phone. To prioritize tracking liturgical time as thoroughly as you track secular time. To value the feasts and special days of the church calendar as much as you value those on your holiday, social, or school calendar. When we intentionally mark time, we are being formed by time, regardless of the time you’re tracking. May we all let God’s time shape us more than any other!