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If we had time, we could consider transitional days and the Sanctoral Cycle in separate posts.  But in the interest of giving you time to consider these before class on Sunday, I’m going to combine them into one post.

Certain occasions in Ordinary Time (remember . . . counting by “ordinals”, e.g., First Sunday After Pentecost, etc.) can be viewed as transitions into and out of the Christmas and Easter cycles.  These are:

• Transfiguration Sunday — observed the Sunday before Ash Wednesday, we observe the identification of Jesus with the “Law” (Moses) and with the “Prophets” (Elijah).  The transfiguration narrative (Mark 9:1-8; Matthew 17:1-9; and Luke 9:28-36) also foreshadows both the Cross (Luke 9:31) and the Resurrection (Luke 9:29; Matthew 17:2; Mark 9:3) and serves as a kind of overture for the Easter Season.  (Note: in some denominations, Transfiguration is observed on August 6).
• Trinity Sunday — observed on the First Sunday After Pentecost.  As you’d guess, this is a date to ponder the Triune Nature of the One God.  Actually, this is a fundamental tenet of our faith that should be considered throughout the year.  The Trinity is, has always been from the beginning and ever shall be (read the Nicene Creed).  In the sense that we should always take account of this, it is a good way to transition from Lent and the Paschal celebration into Ordinary Time.
• Christ the King Sunday — is the occasion of transition from Ordinary Time into the Advent Season.  Gary’s comment on Buzzy’s post provides more information and since we’re less than ten days away from this celebration, I expect we’ll be hearing more soon.
• Baptism of the Lord — which we mentioned in last Sunday’s lesson, is observed on the first Sunday after January 6th, and, like the adoration of the Magi, moves us past the birth of Jesus into contemplating who this is that has come among us.

Now, you may think that the Sanctoral Cycle doesn’t have anything to do with us — “That’s a Catholic or Orthodox thing” — right?  Well, “right” in the sense that “orthodox” literally means “right belief”; and in the sense that “catholic” means “universal”.  Protestants may say not emphasize the saints, but we do recognize them — think of “Wesley” Hall at our own church.  As Paul repeatedly makes clear in writing to the “saints” in the early churches, we are all called to pursue sanctification.  And, just like the saints whose days we observe, we do not earn sainthood, it is conferred on us through God’s grace (2 Cor. 12:9-10).  Saint’s days are generally observed on the date of a person’s death — their “birth” into eternity.  Of course, we don’t know the actual dates of death for some of the early Christians, but we remember them nonetheless.  This “remembrance” is another combination of both anamnesis and prolepsis as we consider our unity with all of the saints and our expectation of eternal life in communion with them.  As G. K. Chesterton said, “If you want to know the size of the church, you have to count tombstones”.

As Methodists, we remember John Wesley on March 2nd and Charles Wesley on March 29th.  The Lord’s Day, takes precedence over any saint’s day when the two coincide.  Most of the various liturgical denominations recognize the following:

In the early church, the number of martyrs and others who were especially venerated as saints quickly outgrew the number of days available on the calendar.  Ultimately, one day was selected to honor all of the saints.  In the West, that day is November 1st, and the following Sunday is All Saints Sunday.  As Andy Ray reminded us this year, when counting the saints, you don’t just count tombstones — all of us and those to come are called on to pursue sainthood through the grace of God.