FIRST DAY OF CHRISTMAS

Scriptures 

Luke 2:1-20; John 1:9-14
 

For reflection

This is the official day for gift giving and receiving.  After anticipation of Advent and “I can hardly wait” eagerness of children (and some of us adults, too), Christmas arrives.  What gift will you – or did you – open first?  What are your feelings after the last gift has been opened?

Of all the gifts our loved ones give us, there is a gift that is before and after them.  It is the occasion of every other gift.  It is a gift that is the more-than-gifts-can-express, heart-felt intent behind every gift.  Our “true love,” who is none other than God, gives us the Gift – Jesus Christ.
 

The Incarnation – the “Word made flesh” – is at once strange mystery and compelling attraction.  If we step back a bit from our cultural conditioning, foregone conclusions and all-but-imperceptible worldview, Incarnation is a strange mystery.  As the 4 Him song below muses: This is such a strange way to save the world.  Poets have tried to put the Word-made-flesh into words: What child is this who, laid to rest on Mary’s lap, is sleeping?  And: I wonder as I wander out under the sky how Jesus the Savior did come for to die for poor ornery sinners like you and like I?

Do you ever wonder about such things?  It is so beyond us that we can’t rationally fathom it.  We will be exploring it for a lifetime; we get to live these questions, to enter into the mystery.  But for now, for this day, at least, can we accept the Good News told by angels? Can we just revel in it, wonder, ponder?

If it is strange mystery, the Incarnation is also a compelling attraction.  Those who get the chance to hear the story – stark as angels appearing in the sky to shepherds – are drawn to the child in the manger.  Hearing, we, too, can decide to hasten near to the manger…to adore.  Adore.  Half giddy cooing like a grandparent over an infant; half prostrate-falling worship in the presence of sheer Power, sheer Love.

Today’s gift is a “partridge in a pear tree.”  The image is of a mother partridge feigning death in the presence of an intruder in order to draw attention away from her vulnerable chicks.  The Gift in the manger would one day lay down his life for poor ornery people like you and like I.  That, too, is part of the strange mystery and the compelling attraction.

This is a busy day.  I hope it's not too busy to take a few moments to step outside, away from the wonderful noises and traditions.  Break away briefly.  Wander out under the sky.  Quiet yourself.  Wonder about the Incarnation.  You don’t have to have answers for all the questions.  Asking about them is itself entering into the mystery.  And, before you head back in, find a way to offer simple thanks for it, for the Gift.

Song 

“A Strange Way to Save the World” by 4 Him
 

I’m sure he must have been surprised

At where this road had taken him,

But never in a million lives

Would he have dreamed of Bethlehem.

And standing at the manger

He saw with his own eyes

The message from the angel come alive.

 

Refrain

And Joseph said

“Why me? I’m just a simple man of trade.

Why him? Of all the rulers in the world.

Why here? Beside this stable filled with hay.

Why her? She’s just an ordinary girl.

Now, I’m not one to second-guess

What angels have to say,

But this is such a strange way

To save the world.”

To think of how it could have been

If Jesus had come as he deserved,

There would’ve been no Bethlehem

No lowly shepherds at his birth.

But Joseph knew the reason

Love had to reach so far

And as he held the Savior in his arms

 

Refrain

Journaling/prayer possibilities

What does it mean to me to “adore Him?”  What issues tend to hinder my freedom to “adore Him?”  Busyness?  Guilt?  Shame?  Feelings of distance or ambivalence?  Cynicism?  Name your hindrances.  Then prayerfully let go of this baggage for today.  Express adoration, or whatever is in your heart as you let your pen wander over the wonder of the Gift.

Carol 

“O Come, All Ye Faithful”

Benediction 

“O God, my Father, I thank You that when all other ways were inadequate You opened the way to us.  When we couldn’t come to You, You came to us, came to us in lowly form, human form.  And now we can come to You through the Way.  Amen.”  (E. Stanley Jones in The Word Became Flesh)

WHICHEVER SONG, A TRADITION LIVES

Most people are familiar with the “Twelve Days of Christmas” song.  It has now been parodied into a thousand wacky renditions.  There’s a plethora of versions on YouTube—some very off-beat stuff.

Some historians think that the song originated in England at a time in which the Church of England prevented Roman Catholics from publishing or circulating church literature.  They postulate that the “Twelve Days of Christmas” song, with the silly gifts for each of the twelve days spanning from Christmas to Epiphany, was developed as a clandestine tool for teaching Catholic children the basis of Christian faith.  The idea is that each day’s gift represents some tenet of the catechism, as you’ll see in following days.  As such, it would have been a device to help children memorize important points of doctrine.

Other historians agree that, indeed, there was a song that used the twelve days of Christmas as a teaching tool for Christian faith, but it’s not the “Twelve Days of Christmas” song.  Rather, the song of the period from which the Christian teaching elements corresponding to the 12 days of Christmas more likely comes is titled “A New Dial.”


I’ll leave it to historians to duke it out over which song.  You can read all about this debate at www.snopes.com/holidays/christmas/music/12days.asp.  Whichever song it was, these facts remain.

(1) The twelve days of Christmas--from December 25 to January 5--were for centuries the prevailing way the holiday and season was celebrated; it still is in some regions.  This is, technically, the season of Christmas.  The four weeks before December 25 is Advent and what follows, on January 6, is Epiphany.

(2) There was a song that creatively used each of the twelve days of Christmas to highlight and reflect on an aspect of Christian faith.  It is those points of faith that I will reflect on each day during this journey to Epiphany.

And (3) we have opportunity today to explore this tradition and these points of faith as a way to shine light for our own journeys into the heart of winter.

So, the celebration and journey begins tomorrow—on Christmas Day.  I hope your preparations for the holiday have brought you to a point of readiness to receive the precious gifts God has in store through the revelation of the Word made flesh.  May your Christmas Eve transition you from frolicking to worshiping and celebrating with joy.

INVITATION TO A JOURNEY

Instead of crashing and meandering after “the big day,” why not keep watch through these weeks that lead us from festive days into the heart of winter?

I invite you to join me for a twelve-day journey over the Twelve Days of Christmas. I’ve prepared readings and reflections for each day from Christmas to Epiphany, concluding on January 6.

I must tell you that observing the Twelve Days of Christmas is relatively new to me. I attempted to observe Christmas this way for the first time just a few years ago. But the more I am learning about this tradition, the more I am beginning to appreciate this way of celebrating Yuletide.

Why not try to enter into this long-standing tradition as a spiritual exercise? Join me here each day, beginning Christmas Day, December 25, and we'll walk hopefully together.