The Importance of Seasons
Today, as we go through our series on how we are a liturgical people we look at something we all experience, whether we are in the church or not. We look at something we all find joy in and struggle with at the same time. We look at something that leads to the great variety and bounty of the world. Something that is so natural and integral to the world that we might miss it’s importance. Today, we are talking about seasons. Yes, seasons like winter, spring, summer and fall, also liturgical seasons like Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, Pentecost and regular time, but also the seasons that seem to affect us most, the seasons of success and heart ache, of love and loss. It might not be easy to perceive but God created seasons, and special days for our good.
If we go back to day 4 of the creation story we hear about God creating the lights in the sky, the stars, the moon and the sun. We know scientifically how these things mark out days and weeks, winter and summer, but here we see that God always intended that and that even more these lights also mark out/even create our liturgical seasons, Holy days, important times of remembrance and reexperiencing. So, I’m going to go deeper into the meaning and importance of our four natural seasons and just touch on the seven seasons of the church.
When it comes to the four seasons of the year they reflect to us an important reality - death will come in this life, but life will always overcome. The truth of the gospel is integrated into our very created order, because guess what it was God that ordered it. His nature will be reflected, if we have the eyes to see. Jesus entered into brokenness and death, but death could not hold him down. Like a seed he may have been buried and died, but new life came to fruition through him and now is accessible to all of us, if we willingly take up our cross and follow him.
Let’s dig into these 4 seasons a little more before moving on to our liturgy. Let’s start with summer, because that is where we are. Here we are in summer, creation is at the prime of it’s life and yet with the great heat and the shortage of rain, life can still be a struggle. There isn’t that balance that leads to an easy life. Yet, summer is a really important season, because with the increased heat and sunlight photosynthesis increases. The strain and bounty together push plants to greater productivity, fruitfulness and growth. If we allow God’s godly purposes our summer experience can mirror this, just like the others. We have to be purposeful about how we meet the strain and bounty though. If a plant was to just give up because of the strain there would be nothing left. If a plant was to just give into the growth it would have no foundation, we need to do both. Grow deep and tall, while bearing the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
Next the season of fall. In Ontario we have beautiful falls. My mother always tries to visit when the leaves are at their prime. What is causing all of this beauty? Well, death and sacrifice. We are watching the leaves die. They are following this pattern where all the nutrients and life in the leaves are being extracted to feed the tree. As the substance of the leaves are being absorbed the beautiful colours are the consequence of something knowing how to die, knowing how to die to uphold something greater. We will enter into seasons of sacrifice and death. This may mean a literal death, but it doesn’t have to be. As amazing and fruitful as marriage and parenting is, there are immense seasons of sacrifice and death - where we in some real ways have to die to ourselves in order to truly care for the other. Really good friendships will have the same reality. This is especially true in our relationship with God. In fact, I would go as far to say that we have to go through these moments of sacrifice and death with God. These seasons are how we learn what it meant for Jesus to sacrifice so much and die so horrendously. These are the seasons where we experience in a grounded way the depth of God’s sacrificial love. These are the seasons where we ground ourselves in God’s trustworthiness. The seasons of sacrifice and death are when we are challenged to put God first above all the things that may need to die or be put aside. The wonderful thing, is that if we hold onto the faith of Jesus and practice this sacrificial love, these seasons can be as beautiful as the kaleidoscope of beauty we see in the trees - even if this still means this season is tough.
Then we get to winter where death has settled in. Nothing is producing fruit. Nothing is creating colour. Many animals hibernate, plants try to just hold on and seeds wait with hope for a time when they might come to life. We may still try to go out, but winter means a lot of staying inside, maintaining and uplifting our closest relationships and hoping for what is to come. Again, this is a really important season. We can’t just be running around 24/7, we have to stop and rest in God. We can’t just be creating more friendships, we have to be strengthening and enriching the friendships we do have to become deeper - in prayer and in conversation. And lastly, sometimes we need to dwell in a season of death, loss and unproductivity, so that we can see God’s hope that is greater than anything else and become the thing we know we need. - One side note, our ability to find joy and play in winter where in reality it is immensely dangerous can be both a good and a bad thing. In Christ we have conquered death, so we have the ability to stand it without fear, yet this can also make us self confident making us think we have conquered winter on our own without all the help of God and technology - forgetting that there is something real and dangerous that is beyond our control.
Finally, Spring. The season of hope and potential. The season where all those hopes that we just barely had a taste for begin to show themselves. A season where there seems to only be potential. A time where we see that life was never defeated, instead we can see how God purposefully invited us through death to lead us to even greater life. The contrast between life and death are so stark and wonderful. As we see those first crocuses bloom, it can feel like anything is possible. In Jesus this is true. Any true and really good thing is possible and in greater ways than we perceive, because we are more than flowers or leafy plants or a seed coming to life. These seasons like spring in our life can feel so wonderful as passion, potential and growth excite us. Yet, there is also a danger in spring. As everything is growing, coming to life, gardens, lawns can become chaotic and destructive. One vine can choke out a tree. A bush can overcrowd another plant. Weeds can take root and cover the lawn. Flower plants or grasses may crowd the garden beds and drive out others. We need pruning, guiding and replanting in these times. We can’t just grab hold of every hope and grow in every direction. God’s bounty is only possible when we listen to our great gardener and grow in ways that serve his Kingdom. This will only strengthen us all as the other seasons come.
Okay, so we have spent a long time reflecting on the four seasons. This was important because I hope you are already beginning to see that these seasons reflect and speak to the other seasons, whether it is seasons of life or liturgical seasons. They all work together in wonderful and beautiful ways that are teaching us about life and most importantly, life with God.
This brings us to our liturgical seasons. Just a note: Our Jewish brothers and sisters also have wonderful and beautiful seasons that do the same thing, I have always wanted to get to know these practice more. But back to our seasons which are Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, Pentecost and regular time. These don’t perfectly match up with the four seasons or our seasons of life, because as they reflect and speak the word of God they are even greater images of Him. In truth, all of our Christian seasons are always present realities. But God knows as we do, that we find it hard to focus on repentance and resurrection at the same time, or his presence and a sense of waiting.
Advent is the beginning. It is a season of waiting and preparing. Too often in our western society this is waiting and preparing for the food and presents of Christmas, but instead it should be waiting and preparing for the true food and the true presence of Jesus Christ. We are waiting for him to come. So Advent takes on a double message. As we reflect on how all of Israel was waiting for their Messiah, their true king in God, and the recreation of the world through Jesus, so too are we waiting for Jesus to come again and finish what he started. Advent has an apocalyptic reality in that we know the world is being burned away and perfected so that it might better contain the full glory of God.
Christmas is the realization of God become flesh among us in Jesus Christ. Emmanuel, God with us has become truly present, so that we might meet him and know him. What’s more God has taken on our humanity. The fullness of God has come into our reality to forever change it. Just like a new born baby God king lying in a manger. We can barely imagine the potential that this brings and the humility that this must have taken.
Epiphany is the revelation of God to the world. Epiphany starts with a star, something anyone can look up and see that guided the way to Jesus. God has always been doing this revealing. He has always intended for all people to know him, why else would Abraham be blessed to be a blessing to all nations. Why else would God want to create all people through his first human friend Adam or a later faithful remnant in Noah. This epiphany or revelation is accessible to all of us as God wants to make himself known and invite everyone to serve.
Lent is another kind of preparation. This time one focused on our sin and brokenness and our need for God’s forgiveness and grace - so Lent often becomes about repentance and penance at the same time that we try to instill good godly practices like giving, prayer and bible reading.
Easter is that great moment where we realize that God’s faithfulness, love and hope are greater than anything else. Every Sunday is an Easter celebration just like when Jesus was raised on a Sunday. This is because all other realities flow from this fondamental fact of God’s powerful goodness to reshape everything.
Pentecost is now the realization of that potential in us. God’s faithfulness, love and hope have taken up a home in us when we make room and invite the Holy Spirit in. All the gifts and potential of God are right there ready for us to live into and there is nothing good that is impossible to us. But like those original hearers, we have to be willing to hear the good.
Finally, regular time. This is the settling in, following, sitting at the feet and listening to Jesus that holds us throughout all of our days.
I hope you are beginning to see how important seasons are in our lives, seasons of the church and otherwise. God has a purpose in all of these seasons. Our challenge now is to purposefully live into what God has created for us and led us too. If you look back at day four one of the purposes of seasons was to mark out Holy Days, but as we pour over these seasons what we begin to realize is that we are meant to make all seasons Holy as a reflection of God’s beautiful specialness that he has been revealing to us at all times and in special ways at particular times. AMEN
Children’s story
Show the images of the four seasons - ask if they know what these are portraying?
Do you know that the church has seasons too?
Can you name any?
We use colours to mark out the seasons
Green for: Epiphany and Regular Time - as seasons of slow and deliberate growth
Purple for Advent and Lent - seasons of repentance and preparation for our king
White (and gold) for Christmas and Easter - the recognition of our great and pure kings arrival
Red for Pentecost and Saints - The passion and potency of the Holy Spirit to work through anyone
Each of these colours and seasons - along with the four are meant to be invitations for us to experience the wonderful glory and particularity of God.
Friday Message
Can you reflect on the seasons of your life? Times of great potential or great struggle, or love or loss. These all can consume us at different times and in different ways. I have been through many seasons already and though I can’t say I enjoyed all of them, I am truly thankful for all of them. Through prayer, reflection and Scripture reading, I know how God has worked and has been purposeful about everyone of these seasons.
This Sunday we explore the great purpose and importance of seasons. How God created them in the very beginning and how he purposed all of them to become Holy, something that reflects and speaks the glory of God. Join us this Sunday as we explore how to enter each season with eyes to see God’s work and purpose.
