It has become customary as we bring the old year to a close, that we take stock of our lives in preparation to begin the next year. I confess, I've wondered at times why there ought to be so much fuss over what seems to be arbitrary numbers on a calendar? After all, I didn't vote for this! Why should the date on the calendar have anything to do with how I live my life?
Of course, that sort of selfish individuality is just the kind of thing that the liturgical cycle of the Church calendar is meant to combat. True, the secular calendar seems to be a haphazard mishmash of religious holy days, patriotic commemorations, and nilquetoast, wishy-washy new traditions, such as Earth Day. It seems that in our attempt to scrap all the old traditions, that we have only managed to construct a new list of traditions that lack a sense of true meaning because we lack a sense of history (what can you expect when you jettison the old in favor of the new?). I am finding, however, as I have begun digging into the calendar of the ancient Celtic Church, that there is a rhythm of life that is missing in the typical 21st century schizoid lifestyle. In a world where time is no longer reckoned by looking up into the sky, where our lives remain at a comfortable 72° no matter the weather outside, where we can go to Wal-Mart any time of the year and pick up a ripe, red tomato, I think we have lost touch with some important touchstones regarding the rhythm of life. I'm not complaining; I'm glad for air-conditioning, grocery stores, and not having to worry about starvation and disease every winter. My point is that the Church Year is a powerful tool to break me out of my own selfishness, my own rhythms of doing what I want, and to align my lifestyle with other believers, not just in the present, but also with the ancient saints of ages past.
My new-found, feeble attempts to follow the liturgical year, of trying to maintain fasting periods and commemorating feast days as something other than an excuse to stuff my gob, of praying the hours, of trying to plan out my time instead of flying by the seat of my pants is often inconvenient, and often uncomfortable. And it's SUPPOSED to be that way. How often do we hear, "Well, you should trying leaving your comfort zone so you can truly experience life." Well, that's what this is, realizing that my time is not my own, and that if I love Jesus, I must consider being part of His Body, the Church, a priority in my life. But what are the benefits? Well, I have experienced some truly beautiful worship services that were not an attempt to create a beautiful worship service for the purpose of entertaining lil' ol' me; but were simply the Church doing what the Church has always done: praising God and entering into Communion with Him without caring who is watching or what will be said. I am gaining (slowly) some spiritual discipline and fortitude: the muscle, bone, and sinew of a spiritual life that will make me more of a real person than I am now. In learning the lives of the saints, I meet and befriend true heroes of faith that are every bit as real as the other great heroes of faith in Scripture, because they follow the footsteps of those heroes in Scripture. I am forced every day to consider that my life isn't my own, but that I am part of something much bigger than my own desires.
So, as I begin 2016, I do so not with a list of resolutions for weight loss and self-actualization, but with the prayer that the Lord Jesus will help me to live in the way He has Purposed for me. I have a feeling that in the process, I might just lose a few pounds, live better, and be happier in the process; but those are the merely side effects of a life well lived. May God bless and keep you in the new year.
David Andrew, Cele De
Of course, that sort of selfish individuality is just the kind of thing that the liturgical cycle of the Church calendar is meant to combat. True, the secular calendar seems to be a haphazard mishmash of religious holy days, patriotic commemorations, and nilquetoast, wishy-washy new traditions, such as Earth Day. It seems that in our attempt to scrap all the old traditions, that we have only managed to construct a new list of traditions that lack a sense of true meaning because we lack a sense of history (what can you expect when you jettison the old in favor of the new?). I am finding, however, as I have begun digging into the calendar of the ancient Celtic Church, that there is a rhythm of life that is missing in the typical 21st century schizoid lifestyle. In a world where time is no longer reckoned by looking up into the sky, where our lives remain at a comfortable 72° no matter the weather outside, where we can go to Wal-Mart any time of the year and pick up a ripe, red tomato, I think we have lost touch with some important touchstones regarding the rhythm of life. I'm not complaining; I'm glad for air-conditioning, grocery stores, and not having to worry about starvation and disease every winter. My point is that the Church Year is a powerful tool to break me out of my own selfishness, my own rhythms of doing what I want, and to align my lifestyle with other believers, not just in the present, but also with the ancient saints of ages past.
My new-found, feeble attempts to follow the liturgical year, of trying to maintain fasting periods and commemorating feast days as something other than an excuse to stuff my gob, of praying the hours, of trying to plan out my time instead of flying by the seat of my pants is often inconvenient, and often uncomfortable. And it's SUPPOSED to be that way. How often do we hear, "Well, you should trying leaving your comfort zone so you can truly experience life." Well, that's what this is, realizing that my time is not my own, and that if I love Jesus, I must consider being part of His Body, the Church, a priority in my life. But what are the benefits? Well, I have experienced some truly beautiful worship services that were not an attempt to create a beautiful worship service for the purpose of entertaining lil' ol' me; but were simply the Church doing what the Church has always done: praising God and entering into Communion with Him without caring who is watching or what will be said. I am gaining (slowly) some spiritual discipline and fortitude: the muscle, bone, and sinew of a spiritual life that will make me more of a real person than I am now. In learning the lives of the saints, I meet and befriend true heroes of faith that are every bit as real as the other great heroes of faith in Scripture, because they follow the footsteps of those heroes in Scripture. I am forced every day to consider that my life isn't my own, but that I am part of something much bigger than my own desires.
So, as I begin 2016, I do so not with a list of resolutions for weight loss and self-actualization, but with the prayer that the Lord Jesus will help me to live in the way He has Purposed for me. I have a feeling that in the process, I might just lose a few pounds, live better, and be happier in the process; but those are the merely side effects of a life well lived. May God bless and keep you in the new year.
David Andrew, Cele De