The vast majority of Christians around the world follow a calendar that tells us when to read a certain Bible passage, when to fast, when to remember a saint or when to focus on a particular event or milestone.
There are many reasons that calendars are popular.
They move us through the bible within a specific period of time, they draw our attention to different seasons such as lent and advent, and they help us to remember important elements of our faith that could otherwise slip our minds. They also provide a certain degree of consistency and uniformity that keeps churches within a denomination on the same page for the sake of continuity and unity.
The Christian faith has seasoned itself with traditions for millennia, and they have come to define how we connect with the eternal Body of Christ and the kingdom of heaven.
The intent of a liturgical calendar is designed to draw us into a richer, fuller walk with God and promote a sense of unity within the broader Christian universe. Yet, I often wonder if we’re selling ourselves short by focusing on a timetable instead of letting the Holy Spirit do what it wants to do at any given point in time.
Are Our Priorities Skewed?
It’s hard for me to be locked in to the formulaic aspects of our faith at times- the prayers, the pageantry, the pomp and ceremony of how we visibly express our faith. We spend so much time, money and energy maintaining these standards, and I keep wrestling with the inescapable question of whether or not we are inclined to serve ritual and tradition more than we serve our Lord.
The first defense of this practice is usually that it draws unto a closer intimacy with God and our faith. It connects us to the eternal Church and adds a degree of richness to the expression of our faith.
I’m not opposed to any of that. In fact, I take great comfort knowing that I’m a part of something much bigger than myself, and that my relationship with God is connected with billions of other souls through our participation in the calendar of our faith.
However, when we compare our emphasis on these things with what flummoxed Jesus in his encounters with the religious system of his day, I can’t help but wonder if we’re doing the same thing.
Does this Emphasis Stifle the Holy Spirit?
One of my favorite passages in all of scripture is when Jesus encounters the Samaritan woman at the well and teaches that God is spirit and we worship God in spirit and truth (John 4:24). Remember, and the Holy Spirit does what it wants and moves where it wants when it wants.
If so much of our energy is focused on upholding the traditions of our faith, what’s left for the application of our faith in the here and now- to be present and active in the world as the hands and feet of Jesus?
I’m not at all suggesting that we walk away from these things or ignore them. But, they should be nestled in the appropriate context. It pleases God more when we act out our faith in the world instead of expressing the bulk of our devotion through endless, scheduled milestones.
Unbalanced Devotion?
I see evidence of this disparity almost everywhere I go within the traditional branches of our Christian faith. We plan for various liturgical celebrations well in advance, we look for participants, we decorate houses of worship, and we go to great lengths to teach and explain why we do what we do. Great- doing so keeps us busy, it keeps us connected, and it keeps us faithful to the history of what we believe.
Yet, there is little else on our calendars that address the here and now. We do very little in terms of engagement in the world in which we are called to bear witness to. Go to any run-of-the mill church or parish, and there is a huge gap between the visible expressions of our faith vs the practical application of it in our day-to-day.
Very few ministries exist outside of opportunities to serve the calendar or participate in our worship. Very few opportunities exist for folks to study the bible, actively participate in evangelization or come together to address the challenges of living in our broken world. What is actually offered is often little more than a token gesture or an afterthought- leftovers of our time and talent.
People Hunger for More
Consequently, souls that are seeking a deeper, more practical, timely and relevant encounter with the heart and soul of what Christianity is in the here-and-now are often starved. The vast majority of people who are disengaged with the life of the faith in the liturgical realm of Christianity are disengaged because they’re not being fed the things that have meaning to them.
Yet, so many churches don’t have the time, resources or headspace to deal with that because the focus is almost entirely on supporting the traditions that define them. Meanwhile, folks go elsewhere to fill that void, and then we criticize and complain about the ministries that support that.
We travel on a slippery slope when we prioritize traditions, rituals and our calendars. Those things are not meant to captivate all of our attention and devotion. They are meant to support the life of our faith. The essence of our faith is meant to be actively lived in the world, being led by the Holy Spirit to go where God wants us to go, to do what God wants to do through us.
False Comfort
Instead, we often take comfort that reflecting on, or participating in, the ritualistic side of our faith alone is pleasing to God. It isn’t. None of that matters to God unless it is balanced with our willingness to walk the walk and imitate Jesus outside of church. An emphasis on anything else robs souls of an encounter with God through us, and it also robs us of the awesomeness of being used by God to accomplish wondrous things during our short time on this planet.
Ironically, much of what we celebrate ritually in the faith centers on how those individuals or events had a transformative impact on our faith throughout history. Yet, we fail to follow in those footsteps too.
Remember that we will be judged according to our deeds and how we reflect Jesus in our encounters with others. Don’t fall into the trap of serving the calendar and thinking that’s enough. It isn’t. We are put here for a purpose, and that purpose extends far beyond marking our days by following ritual and tradition alone.
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