Welcome to Radical Christian’s revamped blog!
After some soul-searching, I’ve decided to combine this blog with another project of mine, namely the development of a more interdenominational Christian prayer book, based on the Divine Office. My goal is to produce more regular (and shorter!) blog entries using my interpretation of what’s known as the “liturgical year”. Texts chosen for a certain day will be used as springboards to discuss matters of faith, social issues, current events, among other things. Though the format will be based more on the Western (Catholic/Protestant) calendar, I plan also to include Eastern Orthodox resources, for we have much to learn from their rich insight.
Just what is the “liturgical year”?
Known also as the “Christian year” or the “Christian calendar”, it’s perhaps the most important creation of the Church. Modeled after the annual observances of its Jewish heritage, and combined with the natural rhythms of the Earth’s seasons, the Church in one year lives out the sacred story of salvation through the life of Jesus. Early Christians quickly realized that, although Jesus died and arose only once in history, they could still experience his death and resurrection every year, every week, even every day—to the extent that, decades after his departure, they felt “crucified with Christ” (Gal. 2:20), “buried with Jesus” (Rom. 6:3), and even “raised with him” (Col. 2:12). His story couldn’t just be read; it had to be lived.
The precise development of, and rationale behind, the liturgical year are too complex to detail here. This blog will be based on the “traditional” form that flourished from the early medieval period through the mid-20th century. The liturgical seasons here will be as follows:
- ADVENT—the 4-Sunday period before 25 December, anticipating the birth of Jesus.
- CHRISTMAS—the 12 days from Christmas Eve to 5 January, celebrating Jesus' birth and early childhood.
- EPIPHANY—the 4-to-9 week period from 6 January up to Ash Wednesday, recalling Jesus' earthly ministry.
- LENT—the 40-day period (excluding Sundays) immediately before Easter Day, a period of discipline, fasting, and prayer.
- EASTER—the 50-day period from Easter Day through Pentecost, and the week following, celebrating Jesus' resurrection.
From here on, I present a modified version to close the year:
- TRINITY—the variable period from Trinity Sunday through 31 August, a meditation on the soul's liberation from sin.
- CREATION—1 September up to the Sunday before All Saints’ (1 Nov), showcasing the mission of the church in this world.
- KINGDOM—the Sunday before All Saints’ (Nov 1) through the day before Advent Sunday, looking ahead to Jesus' Second Coming.
A word about the final two seasons.
The Trinity Season, or Trinitytide, was originally the final season of the year, ranging from 23 to 28 weeks. Methodists in the early 20th century began to divide this lengthy period, designating the second half as “Kingdomtide” in order to shift focus to the Kingdom of God, the Second Coming, the Last Judgment, etc. As this is how Christianity has historically defined the “end times”, this became a fitting way to end the Christian year.
In the late 20th century, the Eastern Orthodox Church proposed a “Season of Creation” to begin on 1 September, the start of their church year. Elements of Rosh ha-Shanah (the “Jewish New Year”, usually falling in September), such as recalling God’s creation of the universe, had already been incorporated into this Eastern Orthodox “Feast of Indiction”. With growing concerns for the Earth, “Creation Day” was seen as a starting point to reflect not just on “creation” but also on our responsibilities as caretakers of this planet and of each other.
Christianity has often reduced the idea of salvation to something individualistic and otherworldly. The contrasting themes of these two proposed seasons, I believe, addresses this flaw. We must remember that Jesus preached both an apocalyptic Last Day and a way to live the day-to-day. He preached both a kingdom that was to come “like a thief in the night”, and a kingdom that is already among us now. He preached that we are both sinners and the light of the world. I believe the seasons of Creation and Kingdom will not only call us into the paradoxes of Jesus’ complete ministry, but also force our focus back onto this world, even as we still look forward to the world to come.
For this reason, I’m excited to begin this project on Creation Day. I pray that, even as I search for God through this blog, you too may embark on your own quest towards wherever God may lead you.
