Seasons of the Church Year

I grew up in a Christian group that did not follow the Christian liturgical calendar. There were many arguments presented for this, including the pagan backgrounds of some holidays. I’m not going to discuss that issue except to say that I care very little about the background of the day. What I care about is what we do with it now! I’m more concerned with the commercialism we’ve brought into Christmas since it became a Christian holiday than I am with any pagan backgrounds.

Another argument, however, was that we should be celebrating these things year round. We should always be celebrating the birth of Christ. We should always be celebrating the atonement and the resurrection.

That argument sounds pious and good at first glance, but it doesn’t match my experience. I do not detract from my celebration of all of God’s works year round by having a special commemoration at one time (or period) during the Christian year. Rather, I enhance that awareness by giving special time to meditation on one or another topic.

Since I became a member of a United Methodist congregation nearly 18 years ago, these seasons have become very important to me. So there will be special things I do during Lent (no, I’m not going to announce these on my blog), and there will be special things I do for Easter.

There is an additional reason I appreciate these seasons. I know I’m remembering these critical events in the history of my faith along with millions of other Christians at the same time. There’s a connection there, and I like to feel it.

So I have become very much attached to the seasons of the church year. This won’t prevent my enjoying a Christmas song during the summer, nor will it keep me from mentioning the cross in the fall. But it will bring these events back to my mind in a special way according to the church seasons.