The Word and Liturgical Time
Calvin shared the common Protestant conviction that preaching the word was one of the most critical factors that needed to be re-introduced and maintained as a vital part of public worship. Like other Reformed theologians, Calvin set aside the “selected lectionary” and followed the lectio continua system, working straight through one biblical book after another. On Sundays he preached on the New Testament, on weekdays on the Old, through the psalms were also expounded on Sundays.
Also like other Reformed leaders, Calvin greatly simplified the liturgical calendar, putting central emphasis on Sundays, and eliminating not only all of the saints’ days but also most of other holy times as Advent and Lent. Commonly Zwinglian churches kept Christmas (December 25), Circumcision (Januari 1), Annunciation (March 25), Easter, Ascension, and Pentecost. Calvin dropped Circumcision and Annunciation as well (the latter was popularly remembered as a Marian feast, the Conception), and celebrated the other four holy days on Sundays. Usually on these days Calvin interrupted the regular lectio continua pattern to preach on a text suited to the day, unless the New Testament book he was then expounding lent itself to that particular feast. In addition, during the week before Easter, there was also a break in the lectio continua pattern for a series of sermons on the Passion; Calvin sometimes chose the Gospel of John but especially liked Matthew, which was the favorite Synoptic Gospel in the sixteenth century because it was believed to be the oldest.
Many people have criticized this Reformed revision of the calendar, which was related to the change from a selected lectionary to the lectio continua method of choosing Scripture, without fully understanding the reasons it was done. One purpose was to see that all the Bible was preached, including the Old Testament. A second reason was the re-orientation of religious time as part of the Protestant re-envisioning of the holy. No longer was one time considered more holy than any other, just as no places or persons were intrinsically holy. Sunday was kept as the holy and the only full holiday (free of work). For Calvin, however, the observance of Sunday, although it was critically important, was not a law that had to be kept in order to be saved, but rather an obedient recognition of God’s accomodation to humanity. All of time is holy, all seven days are owed to God, but God requires only one to be set aside for worship and rest, while the other six may be used for work. (Calvinnever thought of changing the day of worship, but he did object to the superstitious idea that Sunday was essentially different from the other days. He would probably have been as diappointed that the later Reformed tradition developed a strong Sabbatarianism as he would have been shocked by how lightly many modern people treat Sunday.)
At least in the sixteenth century, this extreme revision of the liturgical year did not mean there was less concern for salvation history. One has only to look at Calvin’s prayers to see that the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ were themes throughout the year. If no time is sacred but all time belongs to God and has been redeemed by the Passion and resurrection of Christ, then every moment is holy, every moment is a time for worship. The Reformed idea of liturgical time reflects a very strong sense of God’s providence and presence acting in history, a worship conscious of the here and now as lived in God’s sight and offered to God.
This present-focus of liturgical time is most clearly seen in the establishment of the weekly Day of Prayer, which in Geneva was held on Wednesdays. This was a time of repentance for sins, thanksgiving for mercies, and intercession for the afflicted, prompted especially by careful observation of God’s working in the world. The “current events” of the Christian lives—the dangers that served as God’s chastisement and education, acts of deliverance that manifested God’s gracious mercy, and regular awareness of all sisters and brothers who suffered or were in need—these were the focus of the Day of Prayer. Together with the restructuring of the liturgical year to give key prominence to Sunday, this special “holy day” (a partial holiday in Geneva: no work was allowed until after the services) helped to shape Calvinist Reformed liturgical time in a way that orients worship toward taking very seriously the here and now in which worship a strongly ethical and activist bent; remembering and interceding for all brothers and sisters, both those immediately at hand and those far away, meant that one could never forget the obligation to love one’s neighbors.
Taken from
McKee, E. A. “Reformed Worship in the Sixteenth Century.” Pp. 17-19 in Christian Worship in Reformed Churches Past and Present. L. Vischer, ed. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.
Calvin shared the common Protestant conviction that preaching the word was one of the most critical factors that needed to be re-introduced and maintained as a vital part of public worship. Like other Reformed theologians, Calvin set aside the “selected lectionary” and followed the lectio continua system, working straight through one biblical book after another. On Sundays he preached on the New Testament, on weekdays on the Old, through the psalms were also expounded on Sundays.
Also like other Reformed leaders, Calvin greatly simplified the liturgical calendar, putting central emphasis on Sundays, and eliminating not only all of the saints’ days but also most of other holy times as Advent and Lent. Commonly Zwinglian churches kept Christmas (December 25), Circumcision (Januari 1), Annunciation (March 25), Easter, Ascension, and Pentecost. Calvin dropped Circumcision and Annunciation as well (the latter was popularly remembered as a Marian feast, the Conception), and celebrated the other four holy days on Sundays. Usually on these days Calvin interrupted the regular lectio continua pattern to preach on a text suited to the day, unless the New Testament book he was then expounding lent itself to that particular feast. In addition, during the week before Easter, there was also a break in the lectio continua pattern for a series of sermons on the Passion; Calvin sometimes chose the Gospel of John but especially liked Matthew, which was the favorite Synoptic Gospel in the sixteenth century because it was believed to be the oldest.
Many people have criticized this Reformed revision of the calendar, which was related to the change from a selected lectionary to the lectio continua method of choosing Scripture, without fully understanding the reasons it was done. One purpose was to see that all the Bible was preached, including the Old Testament. A second reason was the re-orientation of religious time as part of the Protestant re-envisioning of the holy. No longer was one time considered more holy than any other, just as no places or persons were intrinsically holy. Sunday was kept as the holy and the only full holiday (free of work). For Calvin, however, the observance of Sunday, although it was critically important, was not a law that had to be kept in order to be saved, but rather an obedient recognition of God’s accomodation to humanity. All of time is holy, all seven days are owed to God, but God requires only one to be set aside for worship and rest, while the other six may be used for work. (Calvinnever thought of changing the day of worship, but he did object to the superstitious idea that Sunday was essentially different from the other days. He would probably have been as diappointed that the later Reformed tradition developed a strong Sabbatarianism as he would have been shocked by how lightly many modern people treat Sunday.)
At least in the sixteenth century, this extreme revision of the liturgical year did not mean there was less concern for salvation history. One has only to look at Calvin’s prayers to see that the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ were themes throughout the year. If no time is sacred but all time belongs to God and has been redeemed by the Passion and resurrection of Christ, then every moment is holy, every moment is a time for worship. The Reformed idea of liturgical time reflects a very strong sense of God’s providence and presence acting in history, a worship conscious of the here and now as lived in God’s sight and offered to God.
This present-focus of liturgical time is most clearly seen in the establishment of the weekly Day of Prayer, which in Geneva was held on Wednesdays. This was a time of repentance for sins, thanksgiving for mercies, and intercession for the afflicted, prompted especially by careful observation of God’s working in the world. The “current events” of the Christian lives—the dangers that served as God’s chastisement and education, acts of deliverance that manifested God’s gracious mercy, and regular awareness of all sisters and brothers who suffered or were in need—these were the focus of the Day of Prayer. Together with the restructuring of the liturgical year to give key prominence to Sunday, this special “holy day” (a partial holiday in Geneva: no work was allowed until after the services) helped to shape Calvinist Reformed liturgical time in a way that orients worship toward taking very seriously the here and now in which worship a strongly ethical and activist bent; remembering and interceding for all brothers and sisters, both those immediately at hand and those far away, meant that one could never forget the obligation to love one’s neighbors.
Taken from
McKee, E. A. “Reformed Worship in the Sixteenth Century.” Pp. 17-19 in Christian Worship in Reformed Churches Past and Present. L. Vischer, ed. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.
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