Living Liturgically
[1/31/2015] It may seem an odd way to begin this new series of reflections and annotations on the journey of faith and the life of cities, but let me start where I ended the last chapter of my life.
Russian icon depicting the calendar of the saints (18th - 19th century). Courtesy: Wikipedia
Making sense of an ending
This past November 23rd, on the final Sunday of the church’s year, I concluded twenty years as Rector of Grace Memorial Episcopal Church in Portland, Oregon. It had been an exhilarating ride, watching an aging urban parish undergo transformation into a vibrant, multicultural community of faith. When I thought about a fitting time to conclude my ministry at Grace, November 23rd became a natural choice. Known by those who are liturgically attentive as the Feast of Christ the King, this particular Sunday marked not only an ending but also pointed forward to the future, to the arresting Biblical vision of the “reign of God.” The very next Sunday was the First Sunday of Advent, not only a new beginning in liturgical time, but a time to mark a new beginning for both the Community of Grace and for myself.
The art of living liturgically
This choice of an ending date is but one small example of a simple, yet profound, approach to life that I have come to call living liturgically. To “live liturgically” is to make the annual cycle of the liturgical seasons into a dynamic template for crafting a richer and more meaningful way of life.I have discovered over the years that “living liturgically” confers distinct gifts upon those who choose to live in this particular way. Each season in the church’s liturgical year poses, I believe, a distinct invitation to explore significant life questions. By moving through the annual cycle of the liturgical seasons, you become liberated from the exhausting impulse to address all of life’s questions all of the time. You are set free instead to focus on particular life challenges in an annual unfolding progression that links your personal life to the life of your own faith community through common worship and seasonal celebrations.
A year structured around questions
While each liturgical day and season can invite a variety of life questions, here are a few that I use to guide my own spiritual development through the liturgical year:
The Season of Advent – What am I waiting for? Where do I need to make a new beginning?
The Season of Christmas – What is coming to birth for me? Within me?
The Season after Epiphany – Where is new light dawning for me? Where am I being called to be a bearer of the Light?
The Season of Lent – What is holding me back from the fullness of life? Where am I stuck?
The Paschal Triduum (The Three Days) – To what do I need to “die,” so that I can be raised again to new life?
The Season of Easter – How can I nurture and make visible the new life that is breaking forth into my own story and into the human story?
The Season after Pentecost – Where is the Spirit awakening my spirit and calling me into an active life of more profound engagement with the world?
Faith communities can Also "live liturgically"
But there is more. These questions can not only serve as openings for personal growth, but the same questions can also be adapted to the program life of any faith community. A version of these questions can used to shape the rhythms of the community over the course of a year, giving a focus to Christian formation, leadership development, pastoral care and the carrying out of the congregation's mission to the city and to the wider world.
From Reflection to Action
Since our lives move forward as we engage questions, what might happen if an individual or an entire faith community fully embraced the life-giving questions embedded in the liturgical year?
Reader's Note: For the purpose of this brief reflection I have been using the concept of liturgical seasons quite broadly and in a way consonant with my own Anglican tradition, since, for example, Roman Catholics do not speak of an Epiphany or Pentecost season, but regard them both as part of “ordinary time.”
