This coming Sunday (Dec. 3) marks the end of "ordinary time" and the beginning of "Advent." What in the world does that mean?
For centuries, the church (meaning the whole church, Christians everywhere) has kept time in a unique and particular way. We Christians have our own calendar, distinct from the Roman calendar used throughout Western civilization. This Christian or "liturgical" calendar reminds us of our identity as God's family and attunes us to the rhythms of God's salvation story.
Here is how Shane Claiborne and Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove explain it:
As a pastor, I don't consider myself a high-church traditionalist (for example, I don't regularly wear a robe and colored stoles and preach through the Revised Common Lectionary). But I do believe deeply in the church calendar as a tool that that grounds us in the truth of the Gospel and unites us to all Christians everywhere. I very much agree with what Lauren Winner writes:
So you will notice the church calendar being referenced this time of year at First Presbyterian Church. The songs and anthems will all reflect the Advent season (and notice, it's not the Christmas season - that comes on Dec. 25!). The banner and parament colors will change to purple as a reminder of the royal birth of King Jesus. The Advent wreath will be lit each week as a reminder of the light Christ brings. I will be preaching through the assigned lectionary Bible texts to help us remember Israel's hope for the long-awaited Messiah. None of this is for the sake of rote traditionalism. We don't do it because it's what we have to do to be good Christians. Rather, we do it for the sake of a lived faith, learning from those who have gone before us so that we might worship the Lord with gladness today. I hope you'll join us during this beautiful time in the life of the church, so that all of us may be shaped by the Spirit in rhythms of grace.
- Blake
P.S. - Looking for more resources on this topic? Check these out:
- Robert Webber, Ancient-Future Time: Forming Spirituality Through the Christian Year
- Shane Claiborne & Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals
- Bobby Gross, Living the Christian Year: Time to Inhabit the Story of God
- The Calvin Institute for Christian Worship, especially their resource The Worship Sourcebook (edited by John Witvliet)
- What in the World is Worship?, a document I put together to explain our services at FPC