Boxing Day
26/12/11 05:35
Good King Wenceslas looked out
On the feast of Stephen
When the snow lay round about
Deep and crisp and even
Brightly shown the moon that night
Though the frost was cruel
When a poor man came in sight
Gathering winter fuel.
We Christians have a long tradition of wrestling with the meaning of Christ’s birth. Jesus is born - so what does that mean for us in practical terms? The second day of the Christmas season is an excellent day to raise such a question. On the Christian calendar, it is also known as the feast of Stephen. Stephen is said to be he first Christian martyr. His death is reported in the Book of Acts. Stephen was brought before the Sanhedrin and tried for blasphemy against Moses and God. He was also charged with speaking against the Temple and the Law. Acts reports that during the trial he experienced a theophany - a vision that reveals God. “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.” (Acts 7:56)
An angry mob, reputedly recruited by Paul of Tarsus (before he had his own theophany and was converted to Christianity) stoned Stephen to death. In his final words, as reported by Acts, he points out a problem that faithful people have wrestled with for thousands of years. “Which one of the Prophets did your fathers not persecute, and they killed the ones who prophesied the coming of the Just One, of whom now, too, you have become betrayers and murderers.” (Acts 7:52)
We Christians believe that Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophetic tradition. His coming means that the justice that is predicted is now fulfilled. The vision of scarcity for none because of the sharing of all, of peace for all, of healing for the sick, water for the thirsty and food for the hungry is clearly God’s intent for the world.
The problem is that we tend to create institutions that become dependent upon the centralization of wealth and sometimes we think that institutional stability is more important that God’s call to justice. The temple had some of those qualities in the time immediately after Jesus. When the early Christian leaders called for justice now, they were seen as a threat to temple authority. For Christians, however, we have to admit that the problem wasn’t just the temple in those long-ago days. The Christian Church has also become an institution that is dependent upon wealth. We too have often gotten confused about the difference between institutional maintenance and really doing the work of justice in the world.
It is a dilemma for all serious Christians every year. We believe in justice for all, but we sometimes squirm when we realize that justice demands that we share.
In many countries of the United Kingdom, the day after Christmas is a bank holiday. It is called boxing day in honor of the tradition of wealthy people giving a box containing a gift to their servants. Boxing Day is observed in Great Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and other commonwealth nations. In most of those countries Boxing Day has become a shopping day similar to the day after Thanksgiving in the United States. Stores haver big sales, open at 5 am and crowds gather around the stores.
Instead of a day of sharing, it has become a day of consuming. Even Ireland, where from 1902 to 2009, all stores were closed on St. Stephens Day, the 107-year-old tradition is now being broken with stores starting their sales on the day after Christmas.
We seem to be very quick to forget the meaning of Christmas.
Good King Wenceslas, the carol whose lyrics are at the beginning of today’s blog, tells the story of a wealthy man who heads out, with his page to take a gift of a hearty meal and firewood to a peasant he sees out of his window. A fierce storm blows up and the page begins to falter. The good king breaks the way for him, the page walks in his footsteps and the king and the page were saved. The tradition is that the very sod was warmed by the goodness of the king, providing for the page. The song ends with a challenge to the faithful:
Therefore, Christian men, be sure
Wealth or rank possessing
Ye who now will bless the poor
Shall yourselves find blessing
This day is a day for sharing. And it is only the second day of the 12 day season we call Christmas. It seems that each year we need a season to remind ourselves - and to practice - God’s call to justice and its meaning for our own lives.
May you find a blessing in sharing with those in need today.
On the feast of Stephen
When the snow lay round about
Deep and crisp and even
Brightly shown the moon that night
Though the frost was cruel
When a poor man came in sight
Gathering winter fuel.
We Christians have a long tradition of wrestling with the meaning of Christ’s birth. Jesus is born - so what does that mean for us in practical terms? The second day of the Christmas season is an excellent day to raise such a question. On the Christian calendar, it is also known as the feast of Stephen. Stephen is said to be he first Christian martyr. His death is reported in the Book of Acts. Stephen was brought before the Sanhedrin and tried for blasphemy against Moses and God. He was also charged with speaking against the Temple and the Law. Acts reports that during the trial he experienced a theophany - a vision that reveals God. “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.” (Acts 7:56)
An angry mob, reputedly recruited by Paul of Tarsus (before he had his own theophany and was converted to Christianity) stoned Stephen to death. In his final words, as reported by Acts, he points out a problem that faithful people have wrestled with for thousands of years. “Which one of the Prophets did your fathers not persecute, and they killed the ones who prophesied the coming of the Just One, of whom now, too, you have become betrayers and murderers.” (Acts 7:52)
We Christians believe that Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophetic tradition. His coming means that the justice that is predicted is now fulfilled. The vision of scarcity for none because of the sharing of all, of peace for all, of healing for the sick, water for the thirsty and food for the hungry is clearly God’s intent for the world.
The problem is that we tend to create institutions that become dependent upon the centralization of wealth and sometimes we think that institutional stability is more important that God’s call to justice. The temple had some of those qualities in the time immediately after Jesus. When the early Christian leaders called for justice now, they were seen as a threat to temple authority. For Christians, however, we have to admit that the problem wasn’t just the temple in those long-ago days. The Christian Church has also become an institution that is dependent upon wealth. We too have often gotten confused about the difference between institutional maintenance and really doing the work of justice in the world.
It is a dilemma for all serious Christians every year. We believe in justice for all, but we sometimes squirm when we realize that justice demands that we share.
In many countries of the United Kingdom, the day after Christmas is a bank holiday. It is called boxing day in honor of the tradition of wealthy people giving a box containing a gift to their servants. Boxing Day is observed in Great Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and other commonwealth nations. In most of those countries Boxing Day has become a shopping day similar to the day after Thanksgiving in the United States. Stores haver big sales, open at 5 am and crowds gather around the stores.
Instead of a day of sharing, it has become a day of consuming. Even Ireland, where from 1902 to 2009, all stores were closed on St. Stephens Day, the 107-year-old tradition is now being broken with stores starting their sales on the day after Christmas.
We seem to be very quick to forget the meaning of Christmas.
Good King Wenceslas, the carol whose lyrics are at the beginning of today’s blog, tells the story of a wealthy man who heads out, with his page to take a gift of a hearty meal and firewood to a peasant he sees out of his window. A fierce storm blows up and the page begins to falter. The good king breaks the way for him, the page walks in his footsteps and the king and the page were saved. The tradition is that the very sod was warmed by the goodness of the king, providing for the page. The song ends with a challenge to the faithful:
Therefore, Christian men, be sure
Wealth or rank possessing
Ye who now will bless the poor
Shall yourselves find blessing
This day is a day for sharing. And it is only the second day of the 12 day season we call Christmas. It seems that each year we need a season to remind ourselves - and to practice - God’s call to justice and its meaning for our own lives.
May you find a blessing in sharing with those in need today.