On the first day of every week, we Christians gather to
celebrate our Lord’s triumphant resurrection. But even though each divine
service actually emphasizes the whole Gospel, it is not possible for us to
consider fully all the various important aspects of our Lord’s life and work
each Sunday. Therefore, we unfold the fullness of the Gospel according to the
fine pattern of the church year. This pattern enables us to celebrate the main
events in our Savior’s life on the various Sundays and festivals of the church.
The dazzling light of the Gospel passes, so to say, through a prism and is
broken up into all the wondrous colors of the rainbow. Each season in the church
year has its own color, and each Sunday in the Church year has its own message.
In the individual divine service then, the Gospel for the day proclaims that
original event in our Lord’s life which we’re celebrating. So we live the year
with Him. Our life centers in His.
EASTER
Easter is the oldest and most important Christian festival.
Other festivals and seasons depend upon the date of Easter, which varies from
year to year. In 325, the church decided that Easter would fall on the first
Sunday after the full moon, which occurs on or after March 21. On the first day
of the week, Jesus rose from the dead. This was the apex of Christian faith.
Each Sunday, therefore, was celebrated as a “little Easter.” Eventually the
observance of the Resurrection on the first day of the week changed the day of
worship from Saturday to Sunday. The season is 50 days long, from Easter to
Pentecost. The mood of Easter is reflected and expressed in the liturgical
color. It is white because it expresses celebration, festivity, joy and victory.
Gold may be used as an alternate color for Easter Day to express the special
prominence of the greatest day of the church year.
PENTECOST
The second half of the church year is named after the festival
with which it begins. Pentecost is the festival of the Holy Spirit and the birth
of the Christian Church. The color for the Day of Pentecost is red, the color of
fire. The Spirit came to the disciples in tongues of fire and enabled them to
speak the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all people regardless of their nationality.
The color for the Sundays after Pentecost is green, a color of growth. Having
reviewed and celebrated the loving story of salvation in the person of Jesus,
the church now turns its focus to growing in faith.
ADVENT
Advent, a season of four Sundays opens the church year. The
season begins on the Sunday closest to November 30. The word Advent, consists of
two Latin words: ad – venire, “To come to”. Advent’s message is that God in
Christ is coming to the world. This coming may be 1) A past coming. God did come
in Christ at Christmas. 2) A present coming. Gods comes in Word and Sacrament.
3) A future coming. He shall come to judge the world. Advent is a time to
reflect on one’s sinfulness and need for a Savior. When the Christian uses
Advent for its intended purpose, Christmas has true joy! The mood of Advent is
expressed in the liturgical color, violet. It denotes a quiet time for watching,
waiting, preparing and praying for Christ The King to come again, anew, either
personally, or universally. An alternate color for Advent is blue, the color of
hope. Increasingly, the church observes Advent seriously as a
vital and necessary time of preparation for a meaningful, spiritual Christmas.
CHRISTMAS
Christmas is the fulfillment of the cry of Advent, for a
Savior, in the infant Jesus. God comes, humbles Himself, and takes on our flesh
to become one of us. Therefore the church celebrates as they see God, in love
fulfilling His promise that He would not leave His people to die in their sins.
The color of Christmas is white, the color of purity for the Christ Child and
the color of celebration.
EPIPHANY
The festival of the Epiphany falls on January 6. Epiphany is
most often associated with the Magi, for the Magi did not get to Bethlehem for a
year or more after Jesus’ birth. Because the Magi were Gentiles and not
Israelites, the season of Epiphany has a mission theme that proclaims that Jesus
Christ is Savior of all. However, the name Epiphany means “manifestation." Jesus
manifests the glory of God and shows Himself to be very God in the flesh. The
color for the season is white for three Sundays: Epiphany Day, The Baptism of
the Lord, the Transfiguration. White expresses light, glory and celebration.
Green is used on the other Sundays. Green is the color of growth. During
Epiphany, we are to grow into a fuller realization of the nature of Christ as
the Son of God. Sunday after Sunday, there is growth in God’s revealing His
glory in Jesus.
LENT
The Lenten season may not be the longest season in the church
year, but it is important. It is a time for spiritual preparation through
repentance and growth in faith for the festival of Easter. It is the time of the
year when the passion and death of the Savior come into sharp focus. It begins
with a special day of repentance, Ash Wednesday, and ends in the depth of sorrow
on Good Friday. The name of the season, Lent, does not reflect the mood or the
message. It is an old Anglo-Saxon word which means the lengthening of the days
as Spring appears. When Lent begins depends upon the date of Easter. Lent covers
a period of 46 days, although the season is only 40 days (the Biblical number
for preparation). Sundays are not a part of Lent. Therefore we speak of the
Sundays in Lent, not of Lent. The Lenten emphasis does, however, spill over into
our Sunday worship in terms of the penitential color, violet, and the dropping
of the Alleluias and the Gloria in Excelsis from the liturgy. Lent is a
pilgrimage with Jesus to suffering and death. This involves self-denial and
spiritual discipline. If we are to rise with Christ in newness of life on
Easter, we must first die to self. Before we can rejoice, we must mourn. Before
we can live, we must die.
On the first day of every week, we Christians gather to
celebrate our Lord’s triumphant resurrection. But even though each divine
service actually emphasizes the whole Gospel, it is not possible for us to
consider fully all the various important aspects of our Lord’s life and work
each Sunday. Therefore, we unfold the fullness of the Gospel according to the
fine pattern of the church year. This pattern enables us to celebrate the main
events in our Savior’s life on the various Sundays and festivals of the church.
The dazzling light of the Gospel passes, so to say, through a prism and is
broken up into all the wondrous colors of the rainbow. Each season in the church
year has its own color, and each Sunday in the Church year has its own message.
In the individual divine service then, the Gospel for the day proclaims that
original event in our Lord’s life which we’re celebrating. So we live the year
with Him. Our life centers in His.
Easter is the oldest and most important Christian festival.
Other festivals and seasons depend upon the date of Easter, which varies from
year to year. In 325, the church decided that Easter would fall on the first
Sunday after the full moon, which occurs on or after March 21. On the first day
of the week, Jesus rose from the dead. This was the apex of Christian faith.
Each Sunday, therefore, was celebrated as a “little Easter.” Eventually the
observance of the Resurrection on the first day of the week changed the day of
worship from Saturday to Sunday. The season is 50 days long, from Easter to
Pentecost. The mood of Easter is reflected and expressed in the liturgical
color. It is white because it expresses celebration, festivity, joy and victory.
Gold may be used as an alternate color for Easter Day to express the special
prominence of the greatest day of the church year.
The second half of the church year is named after the festival
with which it begins. Pentecost is the festival of the Holy Spirit and the birth
of the Christian Church. The color for the Day of Pentecost is red, the color of
fire. The Spirit came to the disciples in tongues of fire and enabled them to
speak the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all people regardless of their nationality.
The color for the Sundays after Pentecost is green, a color of growth. Having
reviewed and celebrated the loving story of salvation in the person of Jesus,
the church now turns its focus to growing in faith.
Advent, a season of four Sundays opens the church year. The
season begins on the Sunday closest to November 30. The word Advent, consists of
two Latin words: ad – venire, “To come to”. Advent’s message is that God in
Christ is coming to the world. This coming may be 1) A past coming. God did come
in Christ at Christmas. 2) A present coming. Gods comes in Word and Sacrament.
3) A future coming. He shall come to judge the world. Advent is a time to
reflect on one’s sinfulness and need for a Savior. When the Christian uses
Advent for its intended purpose, Christmas has true joy! The mood of Advent is
expressed in the liturgical color, violet. It denotes a quiet time for watching,
waiting, preparing and praying for Christ The King to come again, anew, either
personally, or universally. An alternate color for Advent is blue, the color of
hope. Increasingly, the church observes Advent seriously as a
vital and necessary time of preparation for a meaningful, spiritual Christmas.
Christmas is the fulfillment of the cry of Advent, for a
Savior, in the infant Jesus. God comes, humbles Himself, and takes on our flesh
to become one of us. Therefore the church celebrates as they see God, in love
fulfilling His promise that He would not leave His people to die in their sins.
The color of Christmas is white, the color of purity for the Christ Child and
the color of celebration.
The festival of the Epiphany falls on January 6. Epiphany is
most often associated with the Magi, for the Magi did not get to Bethlehem for a
year or more after Jesus’ birth. Because the Magi were Gentiles and not
Israelites, the season of Epiphany has a mission theme that proclaims that Jesus
Christ is Savior of all. However, the name Epiphany means “manifestation." Jesus
manifests the glory of God and shows Himself to be very God in the flesh. The
color for the season is white for three Sundays: Epiphany Day, The Baptism of
the Lord, the Transfiguration. White expresses light, glory and celebration.
Green is used on the other Sundays. Green is the color of growth. During
Epiphany, we are to grow into a fuller realization of the nature of Christ as
the Son of God. Sunday after Sunday, there is growth in God’s revealing His
glory in Jesus.
The Lenten season may not be the longest season in the church
year, but it is important. It is a time for spiritual preparation through
repentance and growth in faith for the festival of Easter. It is the time of the
year when the passion and death of the Savior come into sharp focus. It begins
with a special day of repentance, Ash Wednesday, and ends in the depth of sorrow
on Good Friday. The name of the season, Lent, does not reflect the mood or the
message. It is an old Anglo-Saxon word which means the lengthening of the days
as Spring appears. When Lent begins depends upon the date of Easter. Lent covers
a period of 46 days, although the season is only 40 days (the Biblical number
for preparation). Sundays are not a part of Lent. Therefore we speak of the
Sundays in Lent, not of Lent. The Lenten emphasis does, however, spill over into
our Sunday worship in terms of the penitential color, violet, and the dropping
of the Alleluias and the Gloria in Excelsis from the liturgy. Lent is a
pilgrimage with Jesus to suffering and death. This involves self-denial and
spiritual discipline. If we are to rise with Christ in newness of life on
Easter, we must first die to self. Before we can rejoice, we must mourn. Before
we can live, we must die.