Life and Liturgy

On Sundays throughout August I’ve been teaching a series of Christian basics for new members, a sort of Lutheranism 101. Years ago I used to provide handouts that scrolled on for half a dozen pages or more. Now that I’m old and tired, I try to keep things simple and single-page. So far we’ve discussed Word and Sacrament: the story and structure of Holy Scripture, followed by the mission and marks of the Church, and the 3 ½ Lutheran answers to every question. Today I want to touch on syncing our daily lives to the rhythms of the Church year.

Life and Liturgy

Liturgy is “the work of the people,” how we live out our worship in this world. The purpose of the liturgy is to bring Heaven to earth. We find holiness in the everyday. We’ve gone into our Sunday liturgy in detail during previous adult forums. Today I want to look at daily life throughout the year.

The Liturgical Seasons of the Church loosely follow Jesus’ life as found in the Gospels. There are six seasons in the West, four “strong” and two “ordinary.”

1. Advent: the beginning of the liturgical year, starting four Sundays before Christmas Day, a preparatory season of Jesus “coming to” us. Liturgical colors are purple or blue.

2. Christmas: from Christmas Eve to the Sunday following Epiphany, a season celebrating the Incarnation. Liturgical color is white.

3. Ordinary Time: the time “after Epiphany,” from Christmas until Lent, a season of growth in Jesus’ ministry. Liturgical color is green.

4. Lent: begins on Ash Wednesday, 40 days before the Triduum (minus Sundays), a season of penitential preparation. Liturgical color is purple.

The Triduum is not a season but is the Great Three Days of Maundy Thursday (white), Good Friday (none or black), and Easter Vigil (white).

5. Easter: begins at Easter Vigil and continues 50 days until Pentecost, a season celebrating the Resurrection! Liturgical color is white or gold.

6. Ordinary Time: the time “after Pentecost,” from the end of Easter until Advent, the season of the Church. Liturgical color is green.

Note that Epiphany and Pentecost are days, not seasons, while Christmas and Easter are seasons, not days.

Alongside the liturgical calendar runs the Sanctoral Cycle, or calendar of saints. Both the seasons and the lesser festivals may be found in the front of your hymnal.

In addition to these yearly cycles, the Church reads from a three-year Lectionary. Each liturgical year is based around one of the Gospels: Year A for Matthew, B for Mark, and C for Luke. John is read periodically through all three years. Each Gospel reading is paired with an Old Testament reading, psalm, and epistle. This grows out of Jewish tradition.

Daily Prayer, also known as the Divine Office or Liturgy of the Hours, also comes to us from Judaism, shaped through monastic tradition. There are 8 hours in total: matins or vigils (midnight), lauds (3:00 a.m. or dawn), prime (6:00 a.m.), terce (9:00 a.m.), sext (noon), none (3:00 p.m.), vespers or evening prayer (6:00 p.m.) and compline (9:00 p.m.). Most modern plans encourage morning prayer, a daily reading, and vespers. Matins, vespers, compline, and daily readings are found in the back of the hymnal.

We also have a tradition of Quarter and Cross-Quarter Days, more recently known as the Wheel of the Year. These coincide roughly with the beginning and midpoint of each season. The Quarter Days are the Annunciation or Lady Day (March 25), the Nativity of John the Baptist or Midsummer (June 24), Harvest Home (autumnal equinox), and Christmas Day (December 25). The Cross-Quarters are May Day (May 1), Lammas (August 1), Hallowtide (November 1), and Candlemas (February 2).

These rhythms combine to sync our daily life to the harmonies of the Church year.