Happy New Year!
Hey, guys, the last thanksgiving blog didn't get a lot of replies. So if you haven't replied to it yet, stop over there and tell us what you did for Thanksgiving this year, or maybe some of your favorite Thanksgiving memories. :)
Onto this post. I thought it would be nice to wish you all a happy new year, and if you're thinking I'm a month off, well that's partly true. But some of you probably already know that I'm talking about the church's new year! That's right, last Sunday was the first day of advent and also the first day of this new church year! Finally, we've moved out of "ordinary time," which accounts for most of the church year.
I'm not sure if anyone else finds this fascinating, or if it's just because my comp professor has been reading a short book on the church calendar to us as a devotional every class period, but I do find it interesting. I'd like to use this post to briefly go over the church calendar and then ask everyone what their favorite church season is.
As already mentioned, the first day of the church year starts with the first day of advent (which was last Sunday). Advent means the coming of something new, or a birth. So, during the four weeks of advent, we are looking forward to the coming of Christ Jesus and anticipating his eventual return. Do any of you have any advent traditions such as lighting advent candles?
After Christmas comes epiphany, which is the climax of the advent/Christmas season. During epiphany, we remember the three wise men, who "revealed" Jesus Christ to the world as our Lord and King by bringing Him gifts.
In some churches, the season of Epiphany extends until Lent begins, and in others, the intermittent time is simply called "ordinary time". Regardless, lent begins on Ash Wednesday and spans forty days. It is a time of prayer, repentance, reflection, and preparation to celebrate Easter. It culminates in Holy week (Maunday Thursday, Good Friday) and ends the saturday before Easter.
Easter. How great is our God? I'd like to spend a little more time talking about exactly what Easter means to us since it is so important. Backing up to the days before Christ, the only way one could approach God was by atoning for the sin that stood between them and God's holiness. When sacrificing an animal in atonement for sin, the priests would place the sinner's hand on the head of the animal, symbolizing the transfer of sin to the animal. When Jesus died on the cross, he became the final sacrifice to atone for the sin of all who would accept him as their Lord and savior. Some of you recall that when Jesus died a great darkness came over the land, the curtain in the temple split in two, and the soldiers watching said that surely He must be the son of God. Have you ever wondered why the curtain split in two? It was because the curtain referred to was the curtain dividing the the inner temple from the holy of holies--the resting place of the Ark of the Covenant, where God's very presence dwelt. Only priests could enter the holy of holies, and only at very specific times. The splitting of the curtain resembled that we are no longer split from God, but that we may go to him at any time through Jesus.
Whew, that's a lot to keep in mind. But we're almost done. Finally, we come to Pentecost, which comes 50 days after Easter. Pentecost is so cool, guys! Because during Pentecost, we celebrate the descent of the Hold Spirit upon the disciples. This was God the Holy Spirit literally coming down and 'in-dwelling' in each of us. Remember that God dwelled within the holy temple before Christ died for us? Since Pentecost, our bodies have become the temples of God! Remember that always.
Following Pentecost is ordinary time, which stretches for around 33 weeks until the Advent rolls around again.
Heheh... I'd come here only planning to wish you happy new year and look what you've gotten out of it! Please, discuss your favorite times of the year, post other questions and comments, and again go back to the Thanksgiving post.
Jovanna
Jovanna you sure have givin a lot for us to think about...I'm not going to post yet a response yet because I'm running on 10 hours of sleep over the past 4 days and I don't thik I will make sense, but I want you to know you have me thinking.
ReplyDeleteGo sleep!
ReplyDeleteInformative!
ReplyDeleteNow, Kelli, sleep is good.
It's not that I don't want to, it's the fact that my body wont let me. Between stress, homework, jurys, finals, and lots of Buffy my body wont shut down enough to allow sleep.
ReplyDeleteAs a church musician, I like Advent best because of all the Christmas music I get to play. And I do like to celebrate Jesus' birth. Last Sunday we celebrated hope - what is your deepest hope this Christmas?
ReplyDeleteBut, Easter has to be the most meaningful time. I didn't fully appreciate what Jesus went through for each of us until I watched Mel Gibson's 'The Passion of the Christ'. Actually, some parts I couldn't watch. It's so easy to read the Bible verses and not understand their significance. That movie put it all into perspective for me.
I know exactly what you mean, Brenda. I haven't yet seen that movie, but I remember when it came out. I certainly wasn't ready then, but my faith has matured a lot in the last few years. It is very difficult to understand the significance of certain Bible verses, and it's usually not until someone else spells it out for you that the full impact is felt. I've been experiencing a lot of that this semester in my Old Testament History class.
ReplyDelete