I'm a Pharisee

Alright...I admit it...I AM A PHARISEE!!!  Whew, I'm glad I got that off of my chest.  I'm sorry about the reality of this statement, but I really can't help it.  I think part of it is because I like to follow rules.  Rules make sense to me.  They help govern the world and keep everything neat and tidy.  Rules (especially the black and white ones...without any gray) make life simpler for me.  For example, if someone asks if I can do something for them that I really don't want to do, rules help keep me from lying.  I can honestly answer, "While I would like to help you, it is against the rules.  I'm sorry."

One of the areas where I am really a stickler for the "rules" is with the liturgical calendar.  When it comes to the proper colors, songs, sayings, and readings for the year, I try to follow Tradition as much as possible.  So when it comes time to change the paraments, I dig through the storage room and find the appropriate color for the season.  In fact this past year, I found a co-conspirator.  After visiting with one of my parishioners about my diabolical plan, I had her sew a larger altar cloth and a cloth to drape the large cross behind the pulpit in the appropriate color.  I have been very pleased.

*Picture taken from United Methodist Memes

Usually, there is little or no comment about my rule following habit within the church calendar.  But this time of year is different.  Retailers and radio stations have made it much more difficult for people like me.  As soon as the turkey bones are discarded from the Thanksgiving feast, they begin pushing Christmas upon the people.  The ABC Family network took a perfectly legitimate liturgical song, The Twelve Days of Christmas, and tweaked it for their own use.  Now instead of 12 days, they have 25 Days of Christmas where they show movies, cartoons, and specials all with a Christmas theme; all of this begins on December 1st.  That's not Christmas, it's Advent!  While I suppose there is nothing wrong with this, it does bother me a little bit.  Because now, the people of the Church want to sing Christmas songs in December.  That's where my rule infatuation conflicts with expectations.  Here is the result:

*Picture taken from United Methodist Memes

Just this week I had to make another decision about following the calendar versus the expectations of the people.  On Monday, our church installed a new carillon bell system.  It is really a state of the art machine.  It has an internal calendar that it follows and plays songs appropriate for the Church year.  When the guy who was installing it was showing us how to program the songs, he asked about Christmas.  He said you can either start Christmas songs on December 1st or the 24th.  I piped up and said the 24th.  But it was not as easy of a decision as it sounds.  Weighing on my mind was not only the calendar "rule" but also the people's expectations.  After all, the entire community of Haskell is exposed to these songs.  Wouldn't they rather hear Christmas carols instead of Advent hymns?  If we start Christmas songs on the 24th through Epiphany will they think we have messed everything up?  Will anyone even notice?  I don't know...I guess we will see.

I think the reason I get so uptight about following the "rules" of the Church year is that it makes sense.  It keeps us from moving too quickly.  As humans, we want to skip all of the bad stuff and move directly to the good.  We want feasts without fasts.  We want celebration without lament.  We want...we want...we want.

But if we allow each season to come and go according to plan, then we are allowed to see a fuller picture of what is happening right in front of our eyes.  We allow God time to work miracles amidst a backdrop of chaos and confusion.  We get to experience the sacrament of living.  Advent is about waiting.  It is a pause that reminds us not to move too quickly.  There will be a time for Joy to the World and Hark the Herald Angels Sing...but not yet.  Now is the time for expectation that builds up to a climax.  Now is the time for patience.  It is the time for us to continue to cry out from the desert the coming of Christ and proclaim with enthusiasm O Come, O Come Emmanuel.

Until next time...





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