This year I’ll be writing a 40 day devotional series during the season of Epiphany(from January 6 through Ash Wednesday, February 10).  The idea is similar to the creative process I used to write the blog series that became the book Resurrection Power: 50 Days That Rocked The World.Â
Epiphany is one of the seven liturgical seasons of the church year.  They are in order – Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Holy Week, Easter, and Pentecost.
In relation to understanding the church calendar, you may fall into one of these three groups:
- No idea. You’ve not familiar with the seasons of  church calendar at all.
- Been there / done that. You’ve perhaps grown up in a traditional church and are very familiar with the liturgical seasons.  May be they even seem old hat to you.
- Tell me more. You may be familiar with some traditions of the church year like Christmas and Easter, but you’re wondering how it could possibly be relevant to your life. You’re interested in all means of growing in your relationship with God.
The audience I hope to connect with are folks in that third group. That’s my story. I grew up Southern Baptist and don’t remember observing anything related to the church calendar save for Christmas and Easter.
Through my studies at the Robert Webber Institute for Worship Studies, I developed an appreciation for the how, with the right mindset, these traditions can enrich and deepen our spiritual relationship with the Lord.
In his book “Ancient Future Time†, Webber summarizes how the calendar helps us remember and re-enact the story of Christ.
…The Christian year represents the historical unfolding of the life of Christ and his sure return. One may observe that Advent deals with the coming of Christ; Christmas, his birth; Epiphany, his manifestation to the Gentiles; Lent, his journey toward death; the Great Tridium, the last days of Jesus’ earthly life; Easter, the time to celebrate his resurrection; and Pentecost, the time to experience life in the power of the Holy Spirit. According to this historical representation of the life of Christ, the Christian year begins with Advent and ends with Pentecost.â€Â  Robert E. Webber “Ancient Future Time†page 31.
During this Epiphany season I’ll be exploring the scriptures of the season with an emphasis on “Lightâ€, and commenting as the Holy Spirit inspires. Often I’ll be inspired by a scripture from the Daily Audio Bible readings and use that as a writing prompt.
The more light we pour into our spirits, the more the darkness is driven out. I need that. Maybe you do too. So join me on the journey by subscribing and reading the daily journal posts.
The Lord be with you!
Here’s the posts in the #Season of Light series so far: