CREEDE HINSHAW: Worship of sacred seasons helps churches prepare for holy days

This Sunday marks the First Sunday in Advent, an announcement that will mean very little to some Christians. Those, however, who are in “liturgical” churches will be at least somewhat familiar with this terminology.

Liturgical churches (Roman Catholic, United Methodist, Episcopal, Lutheran, Presbyterian, etc.) have for centuries divided the year into church seasons. And by seasons, I am not referring to winter, spring, summer or fall, nor am I considering Spring Training in baseball, college or professional football season, March Madness, school spring break or other sporting or secular periods of time.

Liturgical churches dare to measure time differently. They live by both the secular and sacred calendars. Many people who talk long and hard about living as a faithful Christian and making a witness live only by the secular calendar. Their rhythm of life is dictated by federal “three-day holidays”, Super Bowl Sundays and even Black Friday. They equate the Fourth of July, Valentine’s Day and maybe even Thanksgiving Day with a church holy day.

Those who follow a sacred calendar recognize these secular weekends, too. They acknowledge that God can be – and was and is – present in such national days as Independence Day and Thanksgiving. But those who set their minds and hearts to the rhythm of a sacred calendar walk to and order themselves around a different rhythm.

That rhythm can be a little confusing at first because it is swimming against the stream of secular society. For those who follow the church seasons, the annual seasonal cycle begins not with a specific calendar date (Jan. 1, for instance), or with a specific season in the lunar calendar. The annual cycle begins with the First Sunday of Advent, which (in 2021 is Nov. 28). On that day, among other things, the church will begin all over a cycle of scripture readings that will last for 12 months. This year the church is in Year C, but that’s another matter altogether.

I’ve noticed that even some non-liturgical churches are now starting to grasp the wisdom of this sacred measuring of time. Various churches that heretofore would never refer to church seasons are now at least mentioning advent and observing some of its themes. Furthermore, entrepreneurs have learned there is a profit to be made in the sale of advent calendars, most of which have 24 days (almost never the length of the advent season) and have behind each little door chocolate, jam, popcorn, toys or even skin care products. Though they have scant religious value, they at least point toward Dec. 25.

In Advent, churches will read the prophets Micah and Zephaniah. They will sing hymns (not yet Christmas carols!) appropriate to that season. They will focus on the yearning for Christ’s return, the prophesies about his birth and the hopes for a reshaping of society. The prayers and responsive readings will follow these themes, too.

Followed faithfully and planned well, worship in a liturgical church can help churchgoers prepare for the major holy days of Christmas and Easter. These sacred seasons can also subtly – over decades of faithful observance – shape a person into a deeply faithful disciple of Christ.