Rejoice in Worship - The Christian Year: Celebrating Our History of Faith

Celebration describes what happens every time the people of God gather for worship. The focus of every worship experience is to actualize the divine presence in our lives. Everything that happens centers on what God has done in Jesus Christ – his life, ministry, death, and resurrection. However, we are a people who share a history, not only of what God did in Jesus the Nazarene, but of God’s profound interest in the redemption of God's creation. From the beginning of the Old Testament we can see this divine concern in the call of Abraham and the liberation from slavery in Egypt, the formation of a nation, the calling of the prophets. In each event, we see God’s pursuit. All of this renders a fullness and enriches our sense of celebration in worship. The chief aim in worship is that it be whole in every aspect. Celebrating the Christian Year offers us a natural rhythm involving the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.

You may ask, "What is the Christian Year and how did it come to be?" From what we read in Acts, that fledgling community, following the resurrection of Jesus, centered its worship around the temple. They found their strength and devotion as they gathered as a community for study, fellowship, prayer, and the breaking of bread (Acts 2:42). Everything centered around the resurrection of Jesus. The focus was on remembering what Jesus had taught them. Those, then, were the beginnings of what we now know as the Christian Year. Even though that early Christian community was maintained by a discipline tied to the temple, it very soon began to note the importance of the first day of the week or ‘the Lord’s Day' (Rev. 1:10).

For Hispanics, the word domingo (Sunday) speaks of ‘the Lord’s Day'. In similar fashion, the various seasons began to take form, each with its own particular function in the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We must remember that the focus of all that took place when the people gathered to celebrate, was the resurrection of the Lord.

The Christian Year is divided into two cycles: Easter and Christmas. The first to surface was Resurrection or Easter. It is worthwhile to note that the crucifixion of Jesus coincided with the Jewish Passover, a time for remembering God’s act of liberation of God’s people, from Egypt. Although every Lord’s Day the Christian community celebrated the resurrection of Jesus, every year as the Jewish Passover rolled around, it seemed proper and fitting to celebrate in a special way the resurrection of Jesus. As time went on, a time of preparation was added and extended to what we now know as Lent. Pentecost, the beginning of the Church, brought this season to an end.

The second cycle revolves around the birth of Jesus or Christmas. This appeared much later. It is interesting to note that the event of Epiphany was celebrated even before the birth event. As with Resurrection, there developed a time of preparation prior to the Nativity, which we know as Advent. The Christian Year begins with Advent, in anticipation of the coming of the Word made flesh.

Two blocks of time, one following Epiphany and the other following Pentecost are known as "ordinary time." In the weekly designations they are referred to as "Sunday after Epiphany...or Pentecost." During these "ordinary times," the lectionary readings strive to cover the entire Scripture.

Making use of the Christian Year offers us an opportunity to address the "whole" in the proclamation of the gospel. It affirms and offers ample evidence that we are indeed one Church. No matter where we go or where we worship, we will always be at home. Indeed this is real celebration!

Dr. Noé E. Gonzales is a Rio Grande Conference retired clergyperson. He resides in San Antonio, TX.