Calendars and Christ the King

It's that time of year when we start to get new calendars in the mail. In my house, we transfer birthdays and other significant dates from the "master" calendar to the new year's calendar. (You can tell we haven't moved into the 21st century in this respect.) We want to be able to call or send a card or e-mail to people when they reach milestones.

Calendars don't just organize households and relationships, but define our sense of what and who is important in our lives. In 46 BCE, Julius Caesar adopted what is essentially the modern calendar of 365 days in 12 months beginning January 1 with a day added to February every four years. The names of the months correspond to Roman faith: January for Janus, the god who looks forward and backward to start the year; February after the purification festival held by the Romans on Feb 15; March for the god Mars, the beginning of Spring when wars (and planting) could begin; April for the opening of flowers and the fertility of Aphrodite; May for the fertility goddess Maia; June for Juno, the Roman goddess of marriage; July to celebrate Julius Caesar's birthday; August to celebrate Augustus Caesar's military triumphs; September, October, November, and December get their names from their number (septem = 7, octo = 8, novum = 9, decem = 10) in the old ten month Roman calendar.

This calendar was not and is not the only calendar in existence; but to be conquered by the Romans meant eventually to adopt their calendar, their rule over time as well as space; their imposition of spiritual power as well as political power.

Jews always have maintained a religious calendar separate from the surrounding culture, a calendar based on lunar months of 29 or 30 days, organized around the significant events in Jewish experience with God.

Christians, following in this Jewish practice, also have an alternate calendar that resists the surrounding culture's desire to control time and spiritual focus. The Christian calendar comes to an end this Sunday with a celebration of Christ the King. At the end of the Church year, we look to the end of the age when Christ will return to rule as the promised King over all creation.

The New Year begins Dec 1 for Christians: the first Sunday in Advent. It orders our lives at the beginning to wait and spiritually prepare ourselves for Christ's coming. This is not what the culture is preparing for! We will read passages from the Bible that call us to repent, to trust in forgiveness through Christ, to examine our priorities to see if they are consistent with God's priorities, and to ask how we can prepare for Christ. Read Matthew 24:36-25:46 for more!