The Liturgical Seasons

Saint Thomas Episcopal Church, Greenville, AL Rev. Linda Suzanne C. Borgen

In Genesis 1:14 God said, “Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons and for days and years…” God created a

seasonal rhythm as one of His first acts of creation. As part of God’s creation, we participate in this rhythm, and as followers of Jesus, we observe seasons through the symbols of our worship as we remember the seasons of Jesus’ life and death each year. This short article, written for a Confirmation class, reminds us of the rich meaning of these symbols, and more importantly, of God’s deep love for His creation we express through them.

The Episcopal Church shares many things in common with other Christian denominations. We worship the same Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ, and we believe that God exists as a Trinity of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. There are many theological studies

that try to explain the mystery of the Godhead (another way of expressing the Trinity), but the truth is we as human beings are not capable of understanding many parts of the mystery of God. Events in the Bible, such as when Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist and the voice of God spoke and the Holy Spirit descended as a dove, reveal the Trinity, and we accept this mystery of God’s nature by faith (Matthew 3:13-17).

Our church, along with the Catholic church and a few others, is known as a liturgical church because we follow a set form of worship that includes both a weekly form of worship and rites and rituals for certain special events and holy days. The word liturgy is from the Greek word leitourgia, which means “public service.” This word denotes a formulary, or rite, for Christian worship, especially referring to the Eucharist, which is sometimes called the “Divine Liturgy.”¹

The word Eucharist also has its origins in the Greek language, and it means “thanksgiving.” Celebrating Holy Eucharist is one of the primary acts of our worship and is comprised of two parts, the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Table, also known as Communion. The Liturgy of the Word includes our opening acclamations (Book of Common Prayer, p. 355), our readings from holy Scripture, the homily, or sermon, the Nicene Creed, or other declarations of our faith, and the Prayers of the People. The Liturgy of the Table begins when the priest and a deacon or Lay assistant “set the table” with our Communion elements (the bread and wine), and then prays the prayer of consecration with God’s people asking God to “Sanctify them by your Holy Spirit to be the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ our Lord” (Book of Common Prayer, p. 371).

One of the blessings our Episcopal Liturgy brings to God’s people is the rhythm of life we share within its seasons. The seasons of the Liturgy reflect events in the life and ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ, and they provide a framework for our own journey and growth as His

followers. The new liturgical year begins with the first day of Advent (different than the secular calendar new year) and proceeds in this way: Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, Pentecost, and the season following Pentecost. Some of these celebrations include specific feast days or high holy days of the Church that celebrate moments in Jesus’ life, such as Christmas Day and Easter Day. Other parts of our liturgical year observe periods of time, or seasons, when we, as followers of Jesus, observe practices and disciplines that help us to live more fully into our lives as followers of Jesus.

ADVENT

In Advent, we observe a season of joyful expectation during which we remember Jesus’ birth and also await His promised second coming when He will fulfill all righteousness on the earth. Our liturgical seasons include the use of colors in our liturgical hangings to denote the theme of our seasonal observance. The color for Advent is purple, which is often associated with royalty. This ritual association of the color purple with royalty makes it the perfect choice for our celebration of the coming King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ.

CHRISTMAS

On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, we celebrate the birth of Jesus. The liturgical color for these celebrations is white. Do you remember the song The Twelve Days of Christmas? This song marks the days of the Christmas season between Christmas Day and the day of The

Epiphany on January 6th, when the wise men found Jesus. These days are the twelve days of the season of Christmas. The Season after Epiphany includes the days between January 6th and Ash Wednesday. This time may be between four to nine weeks, depending on the date of Easter Day.

LENT

Following Ash Wednesday, we enter into the Season of Lent. This is a time for self-

reflection, penitence and disciplines of self-denial, such as fasting. These Lenten practices help us focus on areas where we might need repentance and amendment of life, changing a behavior or practice to bring our lives more in line with God’s will. Lent includes forty weekdays, representing the forty days Jesus spent in the wilderness following His baptism. Sundays are not included in the days of Lent, because we cannot fast on them as they include our celebration of the Lord’s Supper. The liturgical color during Lent is purple, symbolizing both Jesus’ suffering, as we are reminded that Roman soldiers placed a purple robe on Jesus as they mocked Him, and as a sign of Jesus triumph over sin and death as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

HOLY WEEK

Holy Week, the week immediately preceding Easter Day, includes observances that mark Jesus’ journey to the cross and the sorrow and pain He bore on our behalf. On Maundy Thursday we remember Jesus’ commandment, or mandate (from the Latin word mandatum), recalled in John chapter 13. Jesus washed the feet of His disciples, telling them that they were to serve one another and others with the same love and humility He expressed when serving them. They did not yet understand just how far Jesus would journey in His love for them, nor the level of humility Jesus would surrender himself to for their redemption. Many churches include Stripping the Altar as part of their Maundy Thursday observances. As all the items that serve as sacred signs of Jesus’ presence with us are taken from the Nave, we are reminded that Jesus himself was taken away when He arrested at the Mount of Olives. Only the consecrated elements from the celebration of Holy Eucharist remain. They are held in reserve for Good Friday’s solemn observance of the day Jesus was crucified for our sins.

Good Friday commemorates the day of Jesus’ crucifixion. The word “good” in the title of these observances comes from historic etymology that included “pious” and “holy” in the definition of the word “good.” We find phrases such as calling the Bible the “Good Book,”

included in this category. Within theological explanations, some reference the meaning of this title to this being the day when humanity is saved through Jesus’ sacrificial death. The solemn service on this day often includes Communion from the reserved sacraments saved from Maundy Thursday’s celebration of Holy Eucharist.

Although considered more Anglo-Catholic, and less frequently observed in the Episcopal church as form, some do observe The Triduum as a continuous Holy Week rite. The Triduum is the three-day period from the evening of Maundy Thursday to the evening of Easter Sunday, commemorating the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is considered one continuous liturgical celebration that includes the Mass of the Lord's Supper on Maundy

Thursday, the Good Friday liturgy, and the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday night, culminating in the celebration of Easter Sunday.

EASTER

Easter Day is a celebration of our Lord Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the dead recalled in each of the four Gospel accounts of the life and ministry of Jesus (Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24 and John 20). This fulfilled Jesus’ prophetic statement to His disciples when He said, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised” (Matthew 17:22-23). Through His death and resurrection, Jesus opened the way for our reconciliation to God through repentance and new spiritual birth. We experience salvation, being saved from sin and its consequences, through accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior and receiving His sacrificial death as having been suffered on our behalf. During the Easter season, which includes the days between Easter Day until the Day of Pentecost, we celebrate the new life we have in and through Jesus Christ, our Savior. The liturgical color of Easter is white. This color symbolizes Jesus’ divinity as the Son of God and His holiness and purity as the Lamb of God without blemish. This liturgical color also symbolizes our new life secured through Jesus’ victory over sin and death, and the call to holiness our new life in Him establishes in our own lives when we become followers of Jesus.

PENTECOST

When Jesus ascended to His Father, He promised His apostles that they would receive

another divine companion to help them and guide them in living their new life as His followers. Without God’s help, humanity is governed by our egos and the carnal desires of our flesh; but, with the help of the Holy Spirit we are able to live as God’s own children. The Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus’ disciples on the Day of Pentecost, and each year we celebrate this feast day to remember that the Holy Spirit is our companion also. The Day of Pentecost is celebrated on the fiftieth day after Easter Day and marks the conclusion of the Easter Season. The liturgical color of Pentecost is red as a symbol of the Holy Spirit descending on Jesus’ disciples as “tongues of fire” (Acts 2:3).

The season after Pentecost is sometimes called “Ordinary Time,” because it does not include special feast days or celebrations. During this season we focus on the daily work and disciplines of discipleship. This is a time when we set our attention toward learning what it means to be a follower of Jesus and toward growing in our faith and spiritual maturity. This season brings the fruits of our Lenten work of self-reflection and penance and amendment of life. Our growth in discipleship is helped through the deepening of our faith accomplished through this work. Each new season of “Ordinary Time” hopefully sees us further along in our spiritual maturity and our understanding of God’s call on our life.

The liturgical color assigned to the season after Pentecost is green. This color reflects the color of new growth we see in nature, and it reminds us that we are also God’s creation. Like

the plants and trees, our lives are also made up of seasons. When we are new believers, we are like a sapling – a promise of who God will grow us to be. We continue our lives in alternating seasons of growth and times of pruning, moments when God strips away those parts of our lives that aren’t spiritually helpful for producing holy fruit. As we continue faithfully through the seasons of our life in Christ, and learn to surrender ourselves to the work of God in and through us, we become a mature Christian, bearing the fruit of God’s own Holy Spirit in this world and for eternity.

The liturgical seasons of our tradition are filled with deep meaning. From the colors we use, to the practices of our worship, to the rites and rituals of our feast days and much more, each season helps us live more fully into our relationship with Jesus Christ. While we naturally strive to gain knowledge and understanding of all of these outward signs, what is most important is that we allow ourselves to reflect upon, and be shaped by, this holy mystery that they convey -

But God proves His love for us in that while we were still sinners

Christ died for us.

Romans 5:8

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¹ Guilbert, Charles Mortimer. Words of Our Worship, p. 39.