Should I Follow the Church Calendar?

Dear friend,

You expressed so much joy in coming into a liturgical understanding of time. As you and I have experienced growing up in non-liturgical traditions, the Church Calendar is a tough sell in our evangelical culture. You asked me where you think you should begin communicating these thoughts with family and friends.

The first point to consider is that a lack of calendar knowledge is not a lack of godliness. So, you should avoid chronological snobbery when considering these issues and remember just how long it took you to get here.

I don’t think the denial of a church calendar stems primarily from historical illiteracy, though it may at times. The issue is not “to calendar or not to calendar?” but “which calendar?” Most in our culture have chosen calendars of their own making. They are fond of national, localized, athletic festivities over and above other ecclesiastical memorials.

As I’ve said, it’s not a poor keeping of time; it’s a selected keeping of time. I want to argue that there is a time that supersedes civic time, which is Church time. Of course, some take strict positions based on confessional commitments. I have little beef with them, and they are not my audience. My audience is those still uncertain about this business and eager to contemplate its place in their lives.

Now, I know that once we begin this conversation, there will be all sorts of fears about celebrating days for saints, angels, and other such things. But I am simply arguing for a celebration of the evangelical church calendar, namely the evangelical/Reformed seasons: Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Good Friday, Easter (Ascension), and Pentecost. If most churches cherished and celebrated a general outline for the calendar, we could begin to see a greater harmonization of themes, topics, and vision for the church universal.

If some were to say, “Why can’t we sing Christmas carols whenever we want to; after all, every Sunday is Christmas?” The answer is: “For the same reason you don’t sing “Happy Birthday” to your child whenever you want to. Every Sunday is indeed Christmas, but every Sunday is also Easter and Pentecost and Trinity Sunday, etc.”

You can do those things, but it takes away from the appointed observance of such a time. If some were to say: “Why am I bound to observe this church calendar?” Answer: “You are not bound to. Your church is not bound to; simply, history has shown its wisdom, and its longevity has shown its importance.” But most importantly, the Bible offers a rich theology of time, and God’s people throughout sacred history have followed such patterns in remembering and commemorating defining moments in the lives of our forefathers.

There is a historical harmony established on these general feast days that all churches of all ages share. This alone should be a persuasive argument.

In sum, my point is that patterns, rhythms, and feasts play a role in the rationale of the Scriptures, and this is a good place to begin these dialogues.

Many blessings as we approach the first Sunday of the Church year.

Pastor Uriesou Brito