Follow Me

C. S. Lewis, the 20^th century Anglican author, notes in his writings that people like variety but they also like things to stay the same. The yearly remembrance of the sacred seasons of the Church and expository biblical texts satisfies the human need for that which changes and that which changes not. Suitably designed, the Liturgical Calendar is a gift which the Church gives to itself - a familiar and well-worn path traversed by countless pilgrims on their journey toward the Light of God. Just as yearly calendars mark the passing of time and changes in the seasons, the yearly calendar of the Western Church (which includes both Protestant and Catholic traditions) highlights the life and ministry of Jesus as it moves through the changing seasons. The observance of the various seasons in the Church year includes particular events, holidays and festivals deemed sacred and central to the faith of those following the way of Christ, and offers its disciples opportunities for education and spiritual growth. Consequently, worshipers are presented, in an organized fashion, with occasions to recall the life of Christ by journeying with Him. From His promised coming at Advent, His earthly life and ministry, His death, burial and Resurrection, to the birth of the Church at Pentecost and His promised return at Advent II, congregations trod the path with Jesus and re-live His life. It is here that wayfaring strangers are strangers no more and the Church begins to look and behave like the Bride of Christ because they have entered into a dialogue regarding their own faith journey each calendar year.

Following His baptism and temptation in the wilderness, Jesus began His three-year public ministry on the earth. To His disciples, the rich young ruler and sincere seekers after truth and the path to eternal life, Jesus consistently responded with these words: “Follow Me.” It is Christ’s call to discipleship for me which was the motivation for the personal worship resource and journal presented here. When I first embraced the Lord as the “Lover of my soul,” I did not comprehend the nature and depth of that love. The unveiling of the risen Christ to my soul was to be a gradual process which still continues to unfold as I see through a glass darkly, longing to see face to face. (I Cor. 13:12a KJV)

We know that the followers of Christ who did see Him face to face made special note of the extraordinary events they observed and experienced through the Gospel accounts of the New Testament. As sensory beings, eye-witnesses heard the angels sing at Jesus’ birth, listened to His preaching by the seashore and on the hillsides around Jerusalem as well as the cries from the roaring crowds clamoring for his crucifixion; they sniffed the sweet fragrance of hay, the dust and dung of animals present at the manger, and the smell of fear which engulfed the disillusioned disciples scattering at His death; they touched the hem of His garment in faith, his feet in worship and in fear and doubt, touched the palms of His hands which bore the nail scars; they tasted His new wine at a marriage feast and fish He cooked for them over an open fire at the seashore, as well as the broken bread and wine at the Last Supper; they saw Him feed the multitudes, heal lepers, and comfort His mother. Eye-witnesses saw Him offer Himself for torture and death on a cross, be resurrected from the dead after three days and then ascend through the skies back to the heavenly Father.

Because a purposeful observance of the various seasons of the Church calendar involves all the senses, this book offers to the follower of Christ opportunities to experience scripture, teachings, art, poetry, and music centered around the Liturgical calendar and then reflect on these experiences by keeping a three-year journal. In Prayers of Life, Michel Quoist put it this way:

The Father has put us into the world, not to walk through it with lowered eyes, but to search for Him through things, events, people. Everything must reveal God to us.

Utilizing this personal worship resource, you are invited to search for and experience the God Who is with us - visually, auditorily, and tactilely. Please Note: If you journal by the light of a fragrant candle while sipping a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, all the senses will be involved.