I remember Palm Sunday as a child growing up in the Methodist Church to have been a sort of mini-Easter. In my Unitarian and Religious Science days it was pretty much ignored. In my Lutheran and once and future Episcopal experience it is, of course, Palm/Passion Sunday.
Last year Karoline Lewis wrote in favor of Palm Sunday standing on its own. She said:
I understand the practical reasons for the more recent liturgical emphasis on the day’s dual themes: most people won’t be coming back during the week, so they need to hear the crucifixion story now. The church needs to make sure that the story of Jesus’ death is given its due before acknowledging any reports of resurrection appearances.
But she concludes that there is reason to observe Palm Sunday on its own:
Palm Sunday can give us language to express “God with us.” The crowd gets it: “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” The one at the center of this parade of palms is none other than Immanuel. Hosanna indeed.
I was a bad kid last year. Not only did I not make it to any of the Triduum services, I didn’t make it to Palm/Passion Sunday at St. John’s. At least during my Lutheran years I generally got to Maundy Thursday service, and most years to the community noon Good Friday service as well.
This year I expect to be there for Palm/Passion Sunday, but I don’t know about the Triduum. So, I suppose that I’m one of those people for whom the hybrid service was designed.
Karoline’s comments are well-taken indeed, but it just may be that a pure Palm Sunday service is yet another casualty of our busy, hectic, frenetic world.
Sunday was Trinity Sunday. We are now fully in the season after Epiphany. We had a late Ash Wednesday/Holy Week/Easter this year, and so a late Pentecost, meaning the stretch of ordinary time from now until the first Sunday of Advent will be shorter this year than it has been the past couple. But here we are. And that’s OK.
As much as I love the festival portion of the liturgical year, I really love the green season as well. Nothing special. Nothing out of the ordinary. Just the Word and the Meal in its most straightforward form. (Of course there are those unpleasant readings that we get the last few weeks in the season after Pentecost. But that’s another matter. And a ways off.)
For now I’m going to enjoy the sacred ordinary of ordinary time.
I've written about this before, but it bears repeating this time of year.
Like many people, for a lot of years I experienced a post-Christmas letdown. One of the great things about observing the liturgical calendar is that Christmas lasts for twelve days: until Epiphany on January 6. That's really nice because the calendar fully supports the celebration from Christmas to Epiphany. In churches that follow the liturgical calendar the Sundays between Christmas and Epiphany are the Sundays after Christmas, either the 1st or the 1st and 2nd, depending on how the calendar falls. Such churches include Christmas music in their services on these Sundays.
In addition to the importance of the religious observance, it's a great thing from a peace-of-mind and stress level as well.
I recently added bookmarks to two Episcopal liturgical calendars to my Web browser. The only thing surprising about that is that I've only done so now. I've had the Episcopal Church Year Guide Kalendar on my wall almost as long as I've been taking part in liturgical worship. Not long ago I added an Episcopal liturgical calendar app to my Devour Android phone.
I have, in fact, been consulting the liturgical calendar to plan events in my life for quite a long time. In 1999 I travelled to India on business in December and missed church two Sundays in Advent. It really felt like I had missed Advent altogether. When we go away for Terry's birthday, which is December 2, I try to make it a Friday night and Saturday night so I don't miss a Sunday in Advent. Advent is just too short to miss a Sunday.
Of course often it's more a matter of luck than planning. We decided to go to our favorite B&B in Montara for President's Day next year, which puts us at the Eighth Sunday after Epiphany. (Have you noticed how long the season after Epiphany is in 2011, and how late Ash Wednesday and Easter are?)
My high school class reunion is April 30. May 1 is the Second Sunday of Easter. Not a great Sunday to miss, but not a horrible one either. At least that should put us at home for the Third Sunday of Easter and the Emmaus story — Year A being the only time in the three year cycle we get that passage on a Sunday morning.
Our Alaska cruise and rail tour from May 18 to 28 keeps me away from church the Sixth and Seventh Sundays of Easter, which would have me back for worship on the Seventh Sunday of Easter and Pentecost.
As I said, in large part luck. But at least I'm paying attention.
Advent began yesterday. It's a little early this year.
My Facebook friends have been complaining since well before Thanksgiving about the early onset of Christmas music. I agree. For myself I would just as soon not hear Christmas music until the fourth Sunday of Advent.
Advent, after all, is not Christmas. Of course not everyone feels that way.
A Facebook friend of mine early last Advent commented something to the effect, "It's starting to look a lot like Advent and Christmas around here." I rashly responded reminding him that Advent and Christmas are not the same. In a more rational moment I later removed the comment. I am not, as my spiritual director pointed out to me, the Advent police.
So I will work to observe Advent as a time of waiting and expectation. If others want to get into the Christmas music now that we're past Thanksgiving, I'm going to do my best not to judge. But that may take some effort on my part, so no promises.
Advent, I will try to not keep repeating, is not Christmas.
