Last week I wrote an article on the topic of Lent. Here is part of my conclusion:

The church calendar is not a restaurant menu. That is, there are not a la carte items. You can’t pick and choose your favorites and leave the others out. You can’t have Easter without Lent. You can’t have Christmas without Advent. Like the five points of Calvinism, they all go together. In the church you eat what you have been served — all of it.

When I wrote that, I had in my sights the inconsistency of those who like to pick and choose from the church calendar that which suits their fancy. To me, at least, it’s not consistent to take the parts of the calendar one likes – usually Easter and Christmas – and reject the other parts; and it just … Read More »

You probably noticed the bulletins changed colors again. That is not an attempt to be stylish or even to mix things up. Rather, it reflects the changing of the church calendar. Last Wednesday was Ash Wednesday, the day when millions of Christians attended church and were reminded of their mortality — the dust that marks their foreheads reminding them that they, too, are dust and that it will be to dust that they will return (Gen. 3:19). More importantly, though, Ash Wednesday is the first day of the 40-day season called Lent. Actually, it’s really not 40 days but 46. Don’t believe me? Go to the calendar and count. Begin with Ash Wednesday and end with the day before Easter. It’s 46. Why all this talk about 40 days then? Go back to the calendar and count the Sundays of … Read More »