Look Around

Each year during the first week of Great Lent, I like to remind people to take a moment during Church and look around. If you are attending Church more than just on Sundays, you will notice a few things you may not have noticed before. The colors are different. The lighting is different. Even the sound tends to be different during Great Lent. Unfortunately, for those who attend services only on Sundays, in most Churches, the differences go unnoticed.

During weekday services of Great Lent, by traditions, the Churches are dark having “just enough light” for safety purposes. This is to reinforce the penitent character of the weekday during Great Lent as opposed to Saturdays and Sundays. There are differences year-round as well, but they are much more pronounced during Great Lent. For example, if your Church has a main chandelier it is most likely on brightly every Sunday, but not during the week. Christ is the Light of the World, and since Sunday is the Day of Resurrection, the lights are bright. Since during the weekdays the darkness reminds us of the promise of the Bridegroom Who comes in the middle of the night. During Great Lent, we are intentionally attending more services in our preparation to greet the Bridegroom, so we pray in the night vigil.

What other differences do you notice? Take note and speak with your priest about what you see that is different during Great Lent. Not only will you learn something, but I promise that you will grow closer to your priest as well. Every priest enjoys sharing the sacred traditions of the Church. Just keep in mind, that while these traditions are beneficial, they are not dogmatic since they do not change the way know Christ. These traditions, sometimes called “Small ‘t’ traditions” are meant to help us put into practice the dogmatic truths of Christ. They help us live, but they do not save in themselves.

I will end today by sharing my sorrow that we have become more and more a “Sunday only Church” when these differences in worship go unnoticed. I dream of the day when we can have enough clergy and assistants to return to daily worship in our Churches as has been the case for centuries. It wasn’t that everyone always was in Church, but that services were always taking place confirming the physical presence of God. If, and when, someone needed to encounter God, they could enter the Church and worship Him with like-minded believers. Some day…..but until we must settle for what we can achieve.