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The Church's Rainbow Calendar PDF Print E-mail
Written by Graham Owen   
Monday, 03 May 2010 08:14

The Church CalendarIt all begins with Advent.  The air of the church is all expectancy, new beginning, looking  forward to the coming of Christ as the babe of Bethlehem, yes, but also to his coming in glory at the end of time.   So the colour is purple, a traditional shade of penitence,  because it is right that we should use this waiting time to examine ourselves, and also (at least this is what I think) to reflect the Royal Majesty of our King to whom we sing “O come, O come Emanuel”.

The waiting ends on Christmas Eve when suddenly the colour changes to white and gold in a great outburst of celebration.  The prayer of Advent is answered, Jesus is born and the joy of Christmas begins;  “O come to us, abide with us, our Lord Emanuel”.   Then comes another season of great happiness as Christ is shown  to the World;  Epiphany, a good time to think of the mission that we have as Christians to make Him known to our neighbours, whoever and wherever they may be;  “His name shall stand for ever;  that name to us is Love”.
The next major season in the cycle is the 40 days of Lent, reflecting the time that Jesus spent in the wilderness, and so it is back to purple for penitence and in many churches you will see ‘lenten array’, usually sackcloth hangings and altar frontals.  Lent (the word comes from the Old English for Lengthening of Days, because it is always in the Spring) is a mirror to Advent, and traditionally a time for self-denial, fasting, and making sure that the things of God are more important to us than the things of the world.  And it is also a good season for starting something new with God;   “So let us learn how to serve, and in our lives enthrone him.”

Towards the end of Lent there is a steady building of pressure as the focus moves towards the Passion of Christ.  Here is the anointing at Bethany, Palm Sunday, and the last days in Jerusalem;  the colour shifts to red, a traditional reminder of the Holy Spirit, but also, of course, the colour of warning, the colour of blood.  We remember that mysterious night in the Upper Room, the vigil of Gethsemene, and the barbarism of Good Friday, the day when all colour is taken away;  “See from his head, his hands, his feet, sorrow and love flow mingling down...”
The story now takes a wonderful and unexpected twist as the stark and empty church is suddenly overwhelmed with beautiful flowers, white and gold is everywhere, and everywhere is heard first the whisper and then the shout, “Christ is risen, Alleluia!!”  It is Easter, the celebration of the Resurrection and all that it means for us, “Thine be the glory, risen conquering Son!”

At Ascension, Jesus returns to the Father, and leaves us again expectant, remembering the disciples not being sure of how they would go on without the physical presence of Jesus in their midst.  And then the answer comes:  the great outpouring of the Holy Spirit.  So again, the colour is red, and we celebrate the birthday of the Church, giving thanks that he has not left us like orphans in an abandoned universe, but has sent His Holy Spirit to guide, teach, console and equip us for the mission entrusted to us.  “Come down, O Love divine, seek thou this soul of mine..”
The next great moment is the realisation that through the whole of this story so far, God has revealed Himself to us as three persons, yet one:  The Holy Trinity, from whom our Church takes its name, and Trinity Sunday  is the one after Pentecost (30 May this year).  Here it is once again the colours of celebration, white and gold.  Soon after Trinity Sunday, we go into what is sometimes called Ordinary Time, and change everything again, this time to green, a good colour to represent growth as we concentrates on the teachings of Jesus and Scripture; “Will you let my life be grown in you, and you in me?”

Green takes us all the way through the Summer and well into the Autumn, until we come to the point when we celebrate the majesty of Christ the King over all the universe.  The colour now is red, there is a strong sense of the Holy Spirit teaching us about the person and work of Jesus, and leading us to Him as he really is;  “Jesus, name above all names, beautiful Saviour, glorious Lord, Emmanuel, God is with us, blessed Redeemer, living Word.”
That brings us to the end of the cycle, and it leaves on the threshold of a new Advent, and a new beginning, the hope being that having followed through faithfully since last Advent, you have grown spiritually, and have discovered so much, that you are beginning the coming cycle in an even deeper relationship with God through Jeus than you were at the beginning of the last Advent.

One of the great benefits of following this traditional way through the Christian Year, is that it gives such a variety of texture and mood, and allows a sense of logical progression through the whole mysterious but glorious story of our Salvation in Christ.

Enjoy the merry month of May!
 

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