Every year has a beginning and an end.  It begins on January 1st but up to about 200 years ago New Year’s Day was on March 1st.  The Church’s Year, however, begins on another day still – Advent Sunday.

Now, just as the year is divided into seasons – spring, summer, autumn and winter – so the Church’s Year has its own seasons.  If we look carefully we shall see that they tell us about what we have been learning in the Creed.

When we began the talks about the Creed we thought of the earth beginning millions of years ago.  We saw how life appeared and how God the Father made human beings to love him and to be loved by him for ever.  It was not long, however, before human beings turned against God and forgot all about him.  After the Jewish people spent had spent 2,000 years in getting ready for him, God the Son at last came in the Person of Our Lord Jesus Christ to bring human beings back to himself again.

Advent, Christmas and Epiphany

The first season of the Church’s Year is Advent which means ‘Coming’, for in Advent we remember how the world prepared for the coming of Jesus.  That is why immediately after Advent there comes the Birthday of Jesus, or Christmas Day as we generally call it.

The name of Jesus’ Mother was Mary and his Guardian, for he had no human father, was called Joseph.  After Jesus was born in Bethlehem he had some visitors.  The first were the shepherds, and a little later the Wise Men, bringing their presents of gold, frankincense and myrrh, came from a far off country to worship him.  By gold they meant that he was a King, and by their frankincense they showed that he was God.  The myrrh was a sign of his future suffering.

We remember this visit on the Feast of the Epiphany.  Epiphany means a ‘making known’ for on that day Jesus made himself known as God and King to the Wise Men.  The Wise Men were Gentiles, which means they were not Jews.  So the fact that Jesus made himself known to them, shows that he is for people of all races.

You’ll remember that King Herod the Great planned to kill the Baby Jesus but Joseph, who was warned by God in a dream, took the young Child and Mary away by night and went to Egypt.  There they stayed until Herod died and then they returned to their home in Nazareth, where Jesus was brought up.

Baptism of Christ and Lent

When Jesus was about 30 years old he left Nazareth to begin his public Ministry, but first, after being baptised by John the Baptist, he went into the desert for 40 days to get ready.  During that time he fasted, that is, went without food.  He did this because he wanted to be the complete master of his body and its wants.  While Jesus was in the desert the Devil tempted him to sin.  He put ideas into Jesus’ head that he should use his powers wrongly.  Jesus, however, refused to have anything to do with the Devil’s suggestions.

In the desert Jesus was often hungry and cold and tired, and later on he knew only too well what it was to be sad and lonely and in pain.  This shows that he was not only truly God but truly a human being as well.  We think of Jesus in the desert (wilderness) during the season of Lent.  The first day of Lent is called Ash Wednesday.

Jesus then went round the country teaching the people about God and healing those who were sick.  Great crowds used to follow him about, but the Jewish rulers became jealous of him and saw him as a threat.  They decided to have him killed next time he visited Jerusalem.

Palm Sunday

The day on which Jesus entered the city was Palm Sunday, so called because the crowds escorted him by carrying palm branches in his honour.  Palm Sunday is the beginning of Holy Week, the last week of Lent.

Maundy Thursday and Good Friday

On the Thursday, that is, Maundy Thursday, Jesus and his Apostles had their Last Supper together.  It was at this Supper that he instituted the Eucharist, the great Christian act of worship, and gave them the right and power to celebrate it.  After supper he went out to the Garden of Gethsemane, and it was there that he was arrested by his enemies.

As only the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate, had the power to put anyone to death, the Jews brought Jesus before him and there accused him falsely of treason.  Pilate, who knew Jesus was innocent, at last let his enemies have their way, and condemned him to be crucified, that is, nailed to a Cross.  This happened on Good Friday.  The Crucifixion shows us what the sin of human beings has cost God, for that was the price he paid for coming to save us from our sins.  And for the same reason the Crucifixion also shows us how dearly he loves us.

Jesus died at 3 o’clock on Good Friday afternoon, and his body was taken down from the Cross and buried in a tomb (sepulchre or burial cave).

But three days later, on Easter Day, God raised Jesus from the dead and now he is alive for evermore.  We shall think about this in our next session.

SUMMARY

Please see the summary at the end of the next session.