Anytime is time to share the Good News

In the life of the church there are three major holidays that most churches celebrate Christmas, Easter and Pentecost.
Some may disagree with my analogy on this, but that’s okay.
There are a couple lesser holidays like Epiphany and Ascension Sunday.
But after Pentecost we enter what the church calls by our tradition Kingdom time.
Other traditions call it ordinary time.
This season of the church year extends from Pentecost until the beginning of the Advent season.
When I was growing up in the church we had two colors during the doldrums of the season.
The first being red for the Pentecost season and then followed by Green.
In 1937, the Federal Council of Churches (now known as the National Council of Churches) recommended that the entire part of the Christian calendar between Pentecost and Advent be named Kingdom tide.
Our denomination being a part of the NCC recommended that all our churches adopt this standard.
But us Disciples of Christ like our independence so precise standards for determining when Kingdom tide began varied in different churches.
In my home church we started the season on the Sunday on or nearest Aug. 31, which gave Kingdom tide 13 Sundays every year.
Some places begin Kingdom tide on the last Sunday in August, giving the season 13 Sundays in some years and 14 in others.
The last Sunday before Advent begins is observed as the Christ the King Sunday.
I am glad that I have a great worship committee to keep the church paraments changed and in order throughout the season of the church liturgical year.
Today, most congregations adopted the more common ecumenical pattern of a season of Ordinary Time between Pentecost and Advent.
In my home church, green vestments and paraments were used at church services during Kingdom tide, replacing the red used on the Sundays after.
I always thought that it was a dreary time of the year.
We had very plain green paraments in our church and as I travelled and visited other churches in many different denominations, I found that most churches had the same green dull paraments.
Thus, over time, I began investing in more diverse stoles to wear during preaching at this time for the entire period between Pentecost and Advent.
When I think about the term, Ordinary Time, I cringe just a little.
There should never be anything ordinary about the proclamation of the good news in our church, life and community.
It is a privilege for all followers of Jesus to be able to be a part of the great commission given to the disciples found in Matthew’s gospel, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
In the Book of Acts of the Apostles, Ananias said to Paul, “The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will, and to see the Righteous One, and to hear an utterance from His mouth. For you will be a witness for Him to all men and women of what you have seen and heard.” Acts 22:14-15
The Apostle Paul who persecuted the followers of Jesus put it this way, “called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God.”
Why was the Apostle Paul so grateful to be able to be used by God to share the good news of Jesus?
The Apostle Paul saw himself as the prisoner of Jesus for the spreading of the gospel.
The Apostle Paul knew that Jesus only acted toward him with grace and kindness and he had to share that grace and kindness with others.
By not being afraid to share the gospel 24/7/365 the once prosecutor of the church used every day that God gave him to be a witness for Jesus.
In doing so, he became one of the greatest evangelist of the good news.
I have always like a statement that I heard years ago, “Evangelism is just one beggar telling another beggar where to find the bread.”
May we always be willing to share the grace that is within us, whether it be Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, Pentecost, or Ordinary time.
“But dedicate your lives to Christ as Lord. Always be ready to defend your confidence ‘in God’ when anyone asks you to explain it. However, make your defense with gentleness and respect.” 1 Peter 3:15
Rev. Frank Chlastak began work as senior minister of First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Poplar Bluff on Sunday, Sept. 13, 2015. Chlastak is a graduate of Northeast Louisiana University and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and has served congregations of the Christian Church in Louisiana, Arkansas, Virginia, Oklahoma and Missouri. He believes that God’s love in Christ extends to all people, and that ours should also.