The Third Day of Christmas
27/12/14 05:29
Yesterday, when I wrote about the Feast of St. Stephen, I failed to note that the days of Christmas have different meanings in different traditions. Some of the holidays of the Christian year, most notably Easter, don’t line up in the same way on the calendar of the Eastern Orthodox church as they do in the Western tradition. Christmas, however, does. We all celebrate the first day of Christmas on December 25. After that day, however, there are many different traditions. The Eastern church celebrates today - the third day of Christmas - as St. Steven’s Day. In the Western tradition, the third day of Christmas is a day devoted to John.
Each of the four Gospels has a different flavor. Matthew begins with a genealogy of Jesus, tracing his lineage back to Abraham. The gospel then goes on with a narrative about how Joseph responded to the news of Mary’s pregnancy. In the second chapter, we get the visit from the wise men and the escape to Egypt.
Mark doesn’t bother to tell a birth narrative. His telling of the story of Jesus begins with the proclamation of John the Baptist, followed by the baptism and temptation of Jesus.
Luke is where we get most of the Christmas stories that we tell in this season. After a brief dedication, he has the foretelling of the birth of John the Baptist and then that of Jesus. Mary visits Elizabeth and sings her incredibly beautiful song of praise and justice. John is born and Zechariah, finally regaining his speech, gets a prophetic song. In the second chapter, Jesus is born, the angels visit the shepherds and the shepherds visit the child, Jesus is named and presented in the temple, Simeon and Ana recognize the child as messiah, and the family returns to Nazareth. At the end of the chapter, Jesus is 12 years old and the family returns to the temple.
John takes a different approach, beginning with a powerful prologue that reads like well thought-out poetry and gives a complex theological description of the coming of Jesus.
In the Western tradition, especially in Roman Catholic congregations that observe the octave (eight masses on eight days from Christmas to New Years), the third day of Christmas is a day for the study of the Word and the reading of the prologue to the Gospel of John. That tradition has been expanded in other Western congregations to include not only the Gospel of John but the other stories about John the Baptist that appear in other parts of the Bible.
It is good to read Luke to learn of John’s parents and the drama of his birth, but it is the Gospel of John that gives a bit of a window on John’s role in the story of Jesus and his way of thinking and speaking.
Some years ago, I memorized the prologue to the Gospel of John (John 1:1-18. It makes a direct reference to John and his role:
“There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came for testimony, to bear witness to the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness to the light.”
After the prologue, the gospel reports that John was questioned about his identity by priests and Levites from Jerusalem about his identity. He answers with a direct quote from the prophet Isaiah: “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord.’”
It is also from the first chapter of the Gospel of John that we first hear of Jesus as the Lamb of God. When Jesus comes to John in the wilderness, John sees him coming and declares, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
That declaration is repeated in many different ways in the liturgies of the church and is often cited in the celebration of Communion.
In our church this year, one of strong images of the season came at the beginning of our Christmas Eve service, when we recalled Mary’s visit to Elizabeth and her song. Two women, both expecting the birth of children, portrayed the parts, with Mary singing her song while Elizabeth played the flute. It was, of course, just a pageant - a play to remind us of the story. But for me it was a powerful moment as we were invited to reflect on the courage and vision of the two women and of the vulnerability of the babies that they bore. God comes to us in human form, small and fragile and in need of constant care. God enlists human partners to bear this great gift to the world. Mary’s role as bearer of God is such an important one in the narrative. Perhaps that is a role that we can assume to one another - to bear the gift of God to others. Kendra Creasy Dean and Ron Foster used that image in their book about youth ministry, “The God Bearing Life: The Art of Soul Tending for Youth Ministry.”
So today, as we continue our celebration of Christmas, is a good day to spend some time reading and reflecting on the words of the Bible. The first chapter of the Gospel of John would make a good read, though the opening chapters of any of the Gospels are filled with powerful images and ways of thinking about God’s great love for the world.
In his Christmas message to the faithful, Pope Francis reminded us to remember those who are suffering at this time of the year: “Truly, there are so many tears around the world this Christmas.” In an artful way, he reminded listeners that all infants cry. The tears of the infant Jesus are a reminder of the tears of those who suffer under war and disaster around the world. As the days pass and we mature into the season, it is appropriate that we turn our attention to the needs of others.
More on that topic tomorrow.
Each of the four Gospels has a different flavor. Matthew begins with a genealogy of Jesus, tracing his lineage back to Abraham. The gospel then goes on with a narrative about how Joseph responded to the news of Mary’s pregnancy. In the second chapter, we get the visit from the wise men and the escape to Egypt.
Mark doesn’t bother to tell a birth narrative. His telling of the story of Jesus begins with the proclamation of John the Baptist, followed by the baptism and temptation of Jesus.
Luke is where we get most of the Christmas stories that we tell in this season. After a brief dedication, he has the foretelling of the birth of John the Baptist and then that of Jesus. Mary visits Elizabeth and sings her incredibly beautiful song of praise and justice. John is born and Zechariah, finally regaining his speech, gets a prophetic song. In the second chapter, Jesus is born, the angels visit the shepherds and the shepherds visit the child, Jesus is named and presented in the temple, Simeon and Ana recognize the child as messiah, and the family returns to Nazareth. At the end of the chapter, Jesus is 12 years old and the family returns to the temple.
John takes a different approach, beginning with a powerful prologue that reads like well thought-out poetry and gives a complex theological description of the coming of Jesus.
In the Western tradition, especially in Roman Catholic congregations that observe the octave (eight masses on eight days from Christmas to New Years), the third day of Christmas is a day for the study of the Word and the reading of the prologue to the Gospel of John. That tradition has been expanded in other Western congregations to include not only the Gospel of John but the other stories about John the Baptist that appear in other parts of the Bible.
It is good to read Luke to learn of John’s parents and the drama of his birth, but it is the Gospel of John that gives a bit of a window on John’s role in the story of Jesus and his way of thinking and speaking.
Some years ago, I memorized the prologue to the Gospel of John (John 1:1-18. It makes a direct reference to John and his role:
“There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came for testimony, to bear witness to the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness to the light.”
After the prologue, the gospel reports that John was questioned about his identity by priests and Levites from Jerusalem about his identity. He answers with a direct quote from the prophet Isaiah: “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord.’”
It is also from the first chapter of the Gospel of John that we first hear of Jesus as the Lamb of God. When Jesus comes to John in the wilderness, John sees him coming and declares, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
That declaration is repeated in many different ways in the liturgies of the church and is often cited in the celebration of Communion.
In our church this year, one of strong images of the season came at the beginning of our Christmas Eve service, when we recalled Mary’s visit to Elizabeth and her song. Two women, both expecting the birth of children, portrayed the parts, with Mary singing her song while Elizabeth played the flute. It was, of course, just a pageant - a play to remind us of the story. But for me it was a powerful moment as we were invited to reflect on the courage and vision of the two women and of the vulnerability of the babies that they bore. God comes to us in human form, small and fragile and in need of constant care. God enlists human partners to bear this great gift to the world. Mary’s role as bearer of God is such an important one in the narrative. Perhaps that is a role that we can assume to one another - to bear the gift of God to others. Kendra Creasy Dean and Ron Foster used that image in their book about youth ministry, “The God Bearing Life: The Art of Soul Tending for Youth Ministry.”
So today, as we continue our celebration of Christmas, is a good day to spend some time reading and reflecting on the words of the Bible. The first chapter of the Gospel of John would make a good read, though the opening chapters of any of the Gospels are filled with powerful images and ways of thinking about God’s great love for the world.
In his Christmas message to the faithful, Pope Francis reminded us to remember those who are suffering at this time of the year: “Truly, there are so many tears around the world this Christmas.” In an artful way, he reminded listeners that all infants cry. The tears of the infant Jesus are a reminder of the tears of those who suffer under war and disaster around the world. As the days pass and we mature into the season, it is appropriate that we turn our attention to the needs of others.
More on that topic tomorrow.