Septuagesima

The “Gesima” Season

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

As we prepare for Easter, we remember that our liturgical journey unfolds in three distinct periods. The first is the Gesimas, followed by Lent, and finally Passiontide. The three Sundays before Lent known as the Gesimas mainly focus on God’s grace and explore it from three different angles. Below are the names of each Sunday and their meanings.

Septuagesima (meaning, for us, “about 70 days”)—Grace is undeserved.  The collect for this Sunday implores God to graciously hear us, who are justly punished for our sin, so that we may be delivered by His goodness.  The goodness of God is emphasized in the parable of the vineyard workers in the day’s Gospel, Matthew 20:1-16. All the laborers receive the reward because of the goodness of the landowner and not because of their own labor or merit.  We prepare for Easter by remembering that is good and Christ has borne the heat and burden of the day for us so that we might have that goodness for free.

Sexagesima (meaning , for us, “about 60 days”)—Grace is passively received. In the collect for this Sunday we pray that God would see that we put not our trust in anything that we do and that He would mercifully defend us by His power.  The parable of the sower is read as the Gospel from Luke 8:4-15. The seed of God’s Word is passively received. It transforms bad soil into good and noble hearts. We pray that this would happen this also to and for us.

Quinquagesima (meaning , for us, “about 50 days”) —Grace is not easily understood. On the Sunday before Ash Wednesday we hear in the Gospel, Luke 18:34, Jesus predict His passion, death, and resurrection. We also hear that the disciples “understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken.” We pray then that God would be gracious and patient with us and grant faith and understanding to us despite our many sins.

The three Gesima Sundays take on the character of Lent, but mildly.  The “Alleluias” and Gloria in Excelsis are dropped. Through these ways, this grace-focused season provides a gradual progression and gentle easing into Lent and Passiontide.

In God’s Peace,
Pastor Rogness