formation at the common table

The Seasons of Christ

Seasons of Christ

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The Seasons of Christ

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The Seasons of Christ

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Why the Church Orders Time Around Jesus

Time is never neutral. What a people choose to remember, repeat, and rehearse will quietly shape their faith, imagination, and hope. From the earliest centuries, the Church recognised this truth and ordered its life not around political events, agricultural cycles, or cultural festivals, but around the life of Jesus Christ.

The Christian year is not a later invention imposed upon faith, nor a ritual framework competing with Scripture. It is a received pattern—a way the Church learned to inhabit time in light of the gospel, so that the saving work of Christ might be remembered, confessed, and lived into more deeply.

Christian Time Is Received, Not Invented

The Church did not begin by asking how to create a calendar. She began by remembering what God had done.

From the apostolic period, Christians gathered weekly on the first day of the week, the day of Christ’s resurrection (Acts 20:7; Revelation 1:10). Annual remembrance followed naturally, as the Church marked the saving events of Christ’s life through teaching, fasting, and celebration.

By the second and third centuries, Christians were already observing the Paschal feast (Easter), periods of preparation, and the remembrance of Christ’s birth and manifestation. These practices arose not from external religious borrowing, but from Scripture, proclamation, and pastoral necessity.

Note: The popular claim that Christian feasts were primarily adopted from pagan festivals is a modern simplification. Early Christian evidence shows that feast dates were shaped first by theological reasoning—especially concerning the Incarnation and Passion—with cultural overlap occurring later as Christianity spread through existing societies.

Christ at the Centre of Time

At the heart of the Christian year is a single confession:
Jesus Christ is Lord of history (Acts 17:31; Ephesians 1:10).

The Church orders time around Christ because time itself has been entered and redeemed by Him. His incarnation, life, death, resurrection, and glorification are not merely past events, but decisive acts through which God reconciles the world to Himself.

The seasons of the Church year are therefore not abstract themes, but remembrances of real saving acts—acts that continue to shape the Church’s life, worship, and hope.

From Expectation to Fulfilment

Advent — Learning to Wait

The Christian year begins not with fulfilment, but with waiting. Advent forms the Church in patient hope, holding together Israel’s longing for the Messiah, the Church’s present expectation, and Christ’s promised return in glory.

“For the grace of God has appeared… training us… to wait for our blessed hope.” (Titus 2:11–13)

Christmas and Epiphany — God With Us

Christmas proclaims the mystery of the Incarnation: the eternal Word became flesh (John 1:14). Salvation comes not through escape from the world, but through God’s entry into it.

Epiphany widens the vision, revealing Christ as light to the nations (Matthew 2:1–12). The Church learns that the gospel is never a private possession, but good news for all peoples.

Historical note: Early Christian tradition often associated the date of the Annunciation (25 March) with both the Incarnation and the dating of Christ’s death. From this theological framework, the Nativity was later calculated as nine months later, on 25 December—reflecting coherence of belief rather than cultural borrowing.

The Way of the Cross and the Triumph of Life

Lent and Holy Week — Formation Through Repentance

Lent prepares the Church for Easter through repentance, self-examination, and renewed dependence on God. Holy Week draws the faithful into the heart of the gospel: Christ’s suffering, death, and burial—the means by which the world is reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:19).

Easter, Ascension, and Pentecost — Life in the Spirit

Easter proclaims the resurrection of Christ and the defeat of death (1 Corinthians 15:54–57). The Ascension declares Christ’s reign at the right hand of the Father (Acts 1:9–11), and Pentecost celebrates the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, through whom Christ remains present with His Church (John 14:16–18).

Formation Through Repetition and Remembrance

The Christian year is sometimes misunderstood as empty repetition. In truth, it is formational repetition—the kind by which wisdom is learned and love is deepened.

Scripture itself is read repeatedly, not because it is exhausted, but because it forms us over time. In the same way, the seasons of Christ shape patience in waiting, humility in repentance, courage in suffering, and joy in resurrection.

“Do this in remembrance of me.” (Luke 22:19)

A Shared Inheritance of the Church

The ordering of time around Christ predates modern denominational divisions. Long before such distinctions, the Church shaped its life around the saving work of Jesus. For this reason, the Christian year remains one of the most quietly unifying practices within the Body of Christ.

While expressions may differ, the orientation is shared. Christians across cultures and traditions find themselves standing, year after year, at the same thresholds of mystery and hope.

Living the Seasons Today

To live by the seasons of Christ is not to retreat into the past. It is to allow the gospel to shape the present with patience and depth. In a culture driven by speed and novelty, the Christian year teaches attentiveness, faithfulness, and trust.

Here at The Common Table, these reflections receive the seasons as gift—exploring their history, meaning, and spiritual wisdom so that Christ may remain at the centre of our shared life.

The Church does not merely remember Christ in time.
She learns to live in Him.

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