The Church Year
The Christian Church has its
own year which is divided into seasons of varied lengths instead of into
months. We have our Church Year to
remind us that God is the Lord and Giver of Life, and that each year we have on
earth is a gift from Him. The Church
Year also serves to remind us that our life here on earth is but a small part
of the eternity of life that is ours through Jesus Christ.
The Church Year is divided
into two halves. The first half of the
year from Advent through Easter follows the events in the life of Christ. It teaches us what God has done for us
through His Son Jesus Christ. The
second half of the Church Year from Pentecost through Trinity relates the
teachings of the Church to us as believers in Jesus Christ. During this portion of the Church Year we
learn what we shall do to fulfill our responsibilities as the people of
God.
Advent
The Advent Season is the
first season of the Church Year and begins four Sundays before Christmas. It is a season of anticipation of the coming
of Jesus – as a baby at His first coming, as king at His second coming, and as
He meets us daily in Word and Sacrament.
The liturgical color may be blue, symbolizing hope; or it may be purple,
the color for royalty, but also solemnity and penitence.
Christmas
The Christmas Season begins
on Christmas Day and lasts 12 days. It
celebrates the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem.
The liturgical color is white, which symbolizes God, happiness,
rejoicing, light, and purity.
Epiphany
The Epiphany Season, which
lasts from 4 to 9 weeks depending on the date of Easter, beings January 6 and
ends on Shrove Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday. It has two emphases: 1)
the divinity of Jesus, as suggested in the first Sunday after Epiphany, the
Baptism of our Lord; and the last Sunday, the Transfiguration of our Lord. On both those Sundays we hear the words from
heaven, “This is my beloved Son”; and 2) the missionary task o the church as we
are reminded by the visit of the Magi to the Christ child on the day of
Epiphany that this baby was to be king of the world. The liturgical color of the first and last Sundays of the season
is white, symbolizing the divinity of Jesus, and green on all other Sundays,
representing the growth of the church through its missionary efforts.
Lent
The Lenten Season is a six
week season (40 days plus Sundays) of repentence and preparation for
Easter. The liturgical color is purple
representing repentence, except for Good Friday which is black for death,
sadness, and mourning.
The first day of Lent is Ash
Wednesday. The last Sunday is known as
Palm/Passion Sunday and introduces Holy Week.
Maundy Thursday (the commemoration of the Last Supper), Good Friday (the
day of crucifixion), and Holy Saturday (the day of waiting) are major days of
Holy Week.
Easter
The Easter Season begins
with Easter day, the great high point of the Church Year, which celebrates
Christ’s resurrection. It continues for
7 Sundays celebrating the joy of the Easter event. Ascension Day, the day Jesus ascended into heaven, is the 40th
day (Thursday) after Easter. The color
of the season is white, but on Easter Sunday gold is also appropriate.
Pentecost
The day of Pentecost is
celebrated 50 days after the Resurrection.
It commemorates the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles,
according to the promises of Christ. It
marks the birthday of the Church. The
liturgical color is red, which symbolizes the blood of the martyrs, fire of the
Spirit, and love.
Season of Pentecost
The season of Pentecost
continues with the Sunday after Pentecost, Trinity Sunday, and continues up to
the beginning Sunday of Advent, thus completing the year’s cycle. The Gospel readings are primarily of the
teachings and miracles of Jesus. The
liturgical color is green, which symbolizes the color of living, growing things. Our faith and commitment grows as we follow
the teachings and example of Jesus.