No, this blog is not about a soap opera. But, I am writing about the drama of life. We all measure and celebrate time. There are moments in time that are significant in our lives – the day of our birth, the day we graduated from high school, the day we were married, the days our children were born. These are significant days in our lives worthy of celebration. We also have many days that we remember with solemnity – the day my father died; or 9-11, the day that terrorist attacked the United States. My grandson was born on December 2, the same day of the terrorist attack in San Bernardino. A day of rejoicing for our family is a day of mourning for others. These are the days of our lives.
We don’t often think about how the calendar shapes our lives. The calendar expresses the drama of life. The calendar tells the story of a people. The story of the United States is told by national holidays: Columbus Day celebrates discovery, Independence Day celebrates birth, we remember those who have fallen in the defense of freedom on Memorial Day, and Martin Luther King Day provokes us to envision a dream of justice for all. How we tell time shapes our identity as a people.
When the children of Abraham lived as Egyptian slaves there lives were captivated by Egyptian culture – Egyptian gods, Kings, and Egyptian time. Their lives served the mission of Egypt and they lived according to the rhythms and cycles of Egyptian time. When God delivered Israel from Egypt they became a new people with a new way of telling time. God established sacred days and seasons that formed Israel’s identity as a holy nation and told the story of God’s mission in the world. Passover remembers the Exodus; the Day of Atonement effects the reconciliation of a sinful people to a holy God; the feast of Tabernacles offered an opportunity for the people to re-live the wilderness.
So how does the church tell time? How does the calendar tell our story? How does time inform what has priority in our lives? How do the sacred days and seasons inform our worship? How does the calendar inform the mission of the church as God’s people? All too often the calendar of the church reflects the events important to the secular or political culture. In many churches the calendar is dominated secular events – the Super Bowl, the Final Four, Mothers Day, Fathers Day, Veterans Day, the first day of school, etc. Too often we allow the secular calendar and popular events to guide our worship. That may be an expression of what has priority in our lives.
The purpose of a sacred calendar is to daily remind us that the kingdom of God is breaking into this present age. The celebration and observance of sacred days and seasons challenges us to live in the acts of God. The following video offers a wonderful synopsis of why a sacred calendar is important to the life of the church.
