The Reality of Marked Time
Every year, Christians around the world see the Advent season as special. It's a big countdown to Christmas—a day of abundant joy, gifts, and feasting. But have you ever considered why we even have Christmas? I mean, we know it's to celebrate Jesus' birth. But why invent a day dedicated to this? And why make up a season before it called Advent?
We as humans seem wired to mark time—that is, we instinctually set apart time that has marked us. We celebrate anniversaries of marriages and deaths. We dedicate days like MLK day or Memorial day. We even devote months to things like Black History Month. We set aside these days because they each tell a story.
The stories that have most shaped us become the days we most honor. If you lost a parent on 9/11, it became a deeply revered day. As I increasingly learn about the story of slavery and inequality in our country, Juneteenth has become a more important day to me. And so we mark time to retell the stories that have marked us.
In God's redemptive story, he also marks time. In the early books of the Bible, God lays out a whole holiday calendar for his people—special days that would help them remember and be shaped by his grand story. For generations upon generations, followers of the Lord have marked time.
So it's no surprise that after Jesus' earthly ministry, Christians marked time around God's redemptive story, celebrating the key moments in the life of Jesus: his birth, life, death, ascension, resurrection, and return. In other words, with countless stories trying to narrate our lives, Christians mark time around Jesus so that his life might re-narrate our own.
Marking Time Around The Life of Christ
From the beginning of the Bible, God's people have had a certain rhythm—a weekly sabbath. This practice shapes our weeks, encouraging us to cease from constant work and frenzy that we may be people who rest and delight.
Not only do we have a weekly rhythm, we also have an annual rhythm: the church year. In it, we simply retrace the life of Jesus, longing for his love and justice, hope and shalom to shape our lives and world. Some try to make this overly complicated, but it's really quite simple.
You're likely familiar with the heart of this calendar: Christmas and Easter. The less familiar parts essentially serve as preparation and application of these holidays.
We prepare for the joy of Christmas in Advent, and we see it applied in Epiphany—the light going into the world.
We prepare for the joy of Easter in Lent and see it applied in Pentecost—the Spirit bringing the resurrection hope into the world.
As we follow this story of Jesus, we anticipate his coming, rejoice at his incarnation, join in his revelation, reflect on his crucifixion, celebrate his resurrection, and rest in his ascension.
The other half of the year is simply our story—the Holy Spirit cultivating new life in and through us. Many call this "ordinary time," recognizing how even the most mundane aspects of our lives are important in God's redemptive story.
What's the Point of Marking Time?
The point isn’t on marking time. It’s on being re-narrated by the gospel story.
If you want mercy and justice in this land, mark time that shapes you into God’s heart for mercy and justice. If you want to love God and neighbor, mark time that helps you receive the love of God—especially seen through the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
The whole point of practices that mark time is to move the life of Jesus from a good and familiar story to one that redeems and heals your deepest hurts, fears, and longings. Either the story of Jesus is like the story of Santa Clause or it's the Great Story that will undo sickness, sadness, pain, and death—it will reverse injustice and restore what the locust has eaten.
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in Thee tonight
This calendar is not a rule but an invitation. It's a chance to pause our frenetic lives and live into a different story. As this season's consumerism preaches the story of materialistic happiness, may we be re-narrated by how Immanuel—God with us—is the true, lasting joy and hope for all the world.
Resources
Living the Christian Year is a great intro to the Christian year with readable explanations and some simple devotionals for each season. Let's be honest: most of us are rather daunted by the idea of the church calendar. Thankfully, Gross writes in a very accessible way that makes it easy to see beauty and joy available through this practice.
Every Moment Holy (vol 1) is a book of prayers for ordinary life—like the first snow of the season, for making morning coffee, for laundering, for feasting with friends. It helps us see and enter the sacredness of each moment—that even the small things of life can point us to the big truths of heaven.
Liturgy of the Ordinary is an easy read that considers sacred practices in everyday life. Although there's a chapter on the church year, it's far more a primer on how our habits—even in the most mundane of places—can provide moments of sacred significance.
If you're still on the fence about this whole church year thing, check out this article by our friend Tim LeCroy who takes a deeper biblical & historical dive into its origin and usage.
