“The Face of the Liturgy: Part 2 – Paraments”
Last month I discussed the dressing of the pastor and others during the worship service. The next thing to be dressed is the church itself. The paraments adorn the church in our Christian symbols and the colors of the season. We also adorn the sanctuary in many items, such as the processional crucifix and baptismal candle. We have these all these physical things both to remind ourselves what is going on here in worship (God is coming to us to give us wonderful gifts) and in order to teach the young about what we believe, teach, and confess. This month we will go over the colors and symbols on the paraments.
The first season of the church year is Advent, during which we adorn the church in violet. Violet symbolizes passion and remorse. And so, during Advent and Lent the focus of the church is shifted to remorse over sin and the passion of Christ. You’ll notice too that we have symbols embroidered on these paraments such as the crown of thorns. As we look at these symbols, we are reminded why Christ came into the world and of the cost of our sin: God’s death upon the cross.
As we go into Christmas we turn from a remorseful violet to a triumphant white. White reflects the glory of God, His righteousness, and victory over death and so is used for special Holy Days and for the times of Christmas and Easter when the special focus of the Church is on the righteousness, glory, and victory of God. You may also notice our white paraments have symbols relating to these things as well, such as the words “Holy, Holy, Holy”, reflecting the throne room of God, and the golden crown, pointing to Christ as both victor and king.
Epiphany is the next season where we go from white to green. Green symbolizes growth, specifically spiritual growth. Epiphany is the time when Christ is being revealed and the church is growing in the knowledge of the truth. Green is also primarily used during the “growing season” of the Church over the summer: the season of Trinity. You’ll see symbols such as wheat and grape vines on our green paraments, further reminding us of the growth of the Church which is centered on Christ and especially the Lord’s Supper, which is our physical and spiritual nourishment given by Christ.
Throughout the year at various points, you will see red in the sanctuary. Red symbolizes the fire of the Holy Spirit and blood. We use this on Pentecost, Reformation, any time a pastor is ordained or installed, and on Martyr days, when we remember the blood which the martyrs shed. Some symbols here include the Holy Spirit descending as a dove, reminding us of the Holy Spirit coming on Pentecost and that the Holy Spirt continues to come to us through Word and Sacrament. You will also see two keys representing the Office of the Keys: that specially authority which Christ gave to His Church on Earth to forgive the sins of repentant sinners and to withhold forgiveness of the unrepentant so long as they do not repent. This also reminds us of the pastoral office, the office which God gave to the Church to exercise the office of the keys on behalf of the Church.
Finally, black is used to point to death and is used during Holy Week, when the focus of the Church is firmly on the death of Christ. Black vestments and paraments are usually unadorned with symbols, serving as a stark and resounding emphasis on the emptiness of death.
You notice how each of these colors and the symbols used serve to teach the church and focus the minds of those worshipping on a particular aspect of Christ’s Gospel. As the focus moves throughout the Church year, the worshipper is moved along to examine these different wonders of the Gospel. Next month we will discuss why we have the various items in the sanctuary throughout the year.
-Pastor
