Christmas is an annual holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus. The date of the celebration is traditional, and is not considered to be his actual date of birth. Christmas festivities often combine the commemoration of Jesus’ birth with various secular customs, many of which have been influenced by earlier winter festivals.In most places around the world, Christmas Day is celebrated on December 25. Christmas Eve is the preceding day, December 24. In the United Kingdom and many countries of the Commonwealth, Boxing Day is the following day, December 26. In Catholic countries, Saint Stephen’s Day or the Feast of St. Stephen is December 26. The Armenian Apostolic Church observes Christmas on January 6. Eastern Orthodox Churches that still use the Juliam Calendar celebrate Christmas on the Julian version of 25 December, which is January 7 on the more widely used Gregorian calendar, because the two calendars are now 13 days apart.The word Christmas originated as a contraction of “Christ’s mass”. It is derived from the Middle English Christemasse and Old English Cristes mæsse, a phrase first recorded in 1038, compounded from Old English derivatives of the Greek christos and the Latin missa. In early Greek versions of the New Testament, the letter ?  (chi), is the first letter of Christ. Since the mid-16th century ?, or the similar Roman letter ?, was used as an abbreviation for Christ. Hence, Xmas is often used as an abbreviation for Christmas.After the conversion of Anglo-Saxon Britain in the very early 7th century, Christmas was referred to as geol, the name of the pre-Christian solstice festival from which the current English word “Yule” is derived. The prominence of Christmas Day increased gradually after Charlemagne was crowned on Christmas Day in 800. Around the 12th century, the remnants of the former Saturnalian traditions of the Romans were transferred to the Twelve Days of Christmas (26 December- 6 January). Christmas during the Middle Ages was a public festival, incorporating ivy, holly, and other evergreens, as well as gift-giving.Modern traditions have come to include the display of Nativity scenes, Holly and Christmas trees, the exchange of gifts and cards, and the arrival of Father Christmas or Santa Claus on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning. Popular Christmas themes include the promotion of goodwill and peace. 

“We begin the seasons of the church year with anticipation, and we end the seasons of the church year declaring a certainty.  In Advent we waited for the needed and longed for definitive and ultimate self-disclosure of God in the birth of Jesus of Nazareth.  On Reign of Christ Sunday we celebrate the fulfillment of the biblical revelation of God in Christ.

“Once again the church has listened to, reflected upon, rehearsed in worship, and tried to live in daily experience the redemption story.  We come away from the last Sunday of the church year soaked to the core in the revelation of God in Christ.  For us, as for those first disciples, there can be no turning back.  Here in the light of Christ’s triumphant presence we find our voice and declare once again, Jesus Christ is Lord of all and shall reign as Lord in my life.  So committed, we are ready to face every eventually of life because we now know the One in whom our life is found, redeemed and kept secure.  Our radical trust is in the One who is completely trustworthy (2 Timothy 1:12).  Life in Christ is good and complete.”

On this Thanksgiving Day, I wish each of you many blessings and I thank the precious Lord for all of the blessings that He has given to me.  Indeed, life in Christ is good and complete!

Dale

Certain occasions in Ordinary Time (remember . . . counting by “ordinals”, e.g., First Sunday After Pentecost, etc.) can be viewed as transitions into and out of the Christmas and Easter cycles.  These are:

• Transfiguration Sunday — observed the Sunday before Ash Wednesday, we observe the identification of Jesus with the “Law” (Moses) and with the “Prophets” (Elijah).  The transfiguration narrative (Mark 9:1-8; Matthew 17:1-9; and Luke 9:28-36) also foreshadows both the Cross (Luke 9:31) and the Resurrection (Luke 9:29; Matthew 17:2; Mark 9:3) and serves as a kind of overture for the Easter Season.  (Note: in some denominations, Transfiguration is observed on August 6).
• Trinity Sunday — observed on the First Sunday After Pentecost.  As you’d guess, this is a date to ponder the Triune Nature of the One God.  Actually, this is a fundamental tenet of our faith that should be considered throughout the year.  The Trinity is, has always been from the beginning and ever shall be (read the Nicene Creed).  In the sense that we should always take account of this, it is a good way to transition from Lent and the Paschal celebration into Ordinary Time.
• Christ the King Sunday — is the occasion of transition from Ordinary Time into the Advent Season.  Gary’s comment on Buzzy’s post provides more information and since we’re less than ten days away from this celebration, I expect we’ll be hearing more soon.
• Baptism of the Lord — which we mentioned in last Sunday’s lesson, is observed on the first Sunday after January 6th, and, like the adoration of the Magi, moves us past the birth of Jesus into contemplating who this is that has come among us.

Now, you may think that the Sanctoral Cycle doesn’t have anything to do with us — “That’s a Catholic or Orthodox thing” — right?  Well, “right” in the sense that “orthodox” literally means “right belief”; and in the sense that “catholic” means “universal”.  Protestants may say not emphasize the saints, but we do recognize them — think of “Wesley” Hall at our own church.  As Paul repeatedly makes clear in writing to the “saints” in the early churches, we are all called to pursue sanctification.  And, just like the saints whose days we observe, we do not earn sainthood, it is conferred on us through God’s grace (2 Cor. 12:9-10).  Saint’s days are generally observed on the date of a person’s death — their “birth” into eternity.  Of course, we don’t know the actual dates of death for some of the early Christians, but we remember them nonetheless.  This “remembrance” is another combination of both anamnesis and prolepsis as we consider our unity with all of the saints and our expectation of eternal life in communion with them.  As G. K. Chesterton said, “If you want to know the size of the church, you have to count tombstones”.

As Methodists, we remember John Wesley on March 2nd and Charles Wesley on March 29th.  The Lord’s Day, takes precedence over any saint’s day when the two coincide.  Most of the various liturgical denominations recognize the following:

In the early church, the number of martyrs and others who were especially venerated as saints quickly outgrew the number of days available on the calendar.  Ultimately, one day was selected to honor all of the saints.  In the West, that day is November 1st, and the following Sunday is All Saints Sunday.  As Andy Ray reminded us this year, when counting the saints, you don’t just count tombstones — all of us and those to come are called on to pursue sainthood through the grace of God.

• The Anunciation — March 25
• The Visitation — May 31
• The Birth of John the Baptizer — June 24
• The Presentation of Jesus — February 2
• The Name of Jesus — January 1

Despite the fact that all of these dates derive from the chronology in the Gospel of Luke, some Protestants have traditionally been reluctant to observe them.  This is likely the result of the Reformation instinct to move away from the Roman Catholic tradition.  By failing to celebrate these events, however, we can shortchange ourselves by missing opportunities to fully explore the Gospel narrative and to celebrate the Great Exchange at other times of the year than at Christmas.

The Annunciation.  This feast day falls in the season of Lent, nine months before Christmas Day, except in years when it conflicts with Easter Day or the three days following.  We tend to forget sometimes that Mary was a disciple and an example for us to follow.  If we are to take full account of the miracle of Jesus being truly human and truly divine, this is a day for contemplating that miracle (Luke 1:26-38).

The Visitation.  This day commemorates the visit of Mary to the home of her relative Elizabeth (Luke 1:39-56).  This is the occasion on which Mary sings her “Magnificat” (based on the Song of Hannah at the birth of Samuel).  We can use this day to contemplate God’s grace and as a preview of the Beatitudes.

Birth of John the Baptizer.  Just as we don’t really know the date of the Nativity, we don’t know the date of John the Baptist’s birth (Luke 1:57-80).  Like Christmas, this date has theological significance besides replacing Pagan rituals surrounding the Summer Solstice.  As the days begin to become shorter, we are reminded of John’s words, “He must increase, but I must decrease”.  John 3:30.  The example of the Baptizer could be taken to heart by many who preach the Gospel — the teachings of Christ should be place first and the teacher should stay in the background.

The Name of Jesus.  This day concerns the Jewish rites on the eighth day after the Nativity (Luke 2:21) and serves to remind us of the continuity between Judaism and Christianity.  When it is not observed on a Sunday, but on the actual date assigned to it, it coincides with New Year’s Day.  We can use this occasion to reflect on the fufillment of the old law with the New Covenant of the Good News.

Presentation of Jesus.  Forty days after the Nativity, this day recalls the presentation of Jesus at the Temple (Luke 2:22-40).  Next time Groundhog Day rolls around we might consider  recalling that this was the occasion for Simeon to proclaim that in Jesus he recognized “a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”  Beats a bunch of television cameras waiting on a rat any day, doesn’t it?

So there you have it.  Don’t you think we cheat ourselves and diminish our witness as Christians when we fail to take note of events from the Gospel throughout the year?

• Vespers — at the end of the working day
• Compline — before bedtime
• Nocturns — or Vigils or Matins — during the middle of the night
• Lauds — at daybreak
• Prime — shortly after daybreak
• Terce — during the mid-morning
• Sext — at noon
• None — during the mid-afternoon

Of course, not everyone could set aside the time for eight devotional services per day.  In the Book of Common Prayer, two primary daily “offices” were provided for:  Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer (or Evensong).  These daily “offices” (as well as mid-day prayer and others) resulted in the development of a different Lectionary referred to as the Daily Office Lectionary as opposed to a Eucharistic Lectionary such as the Revised Common Lectionary that many liturgical churches use in connection with readings from the Bible at Sunday Services.  Where the Revised Common Lectionary is based on a three year cycle (we’re reaching the end of Year C, and will begin Year A with the first Sunday of Advent) of weekly selections, the Daily Office Lectionary in the Book of Common Prayer is based on a two year cycle of daily readings.  Both Lectionaries contain readings from the Old Testament, the Psalms, a reading from Acts, Revelation or an Epistle and a reading from the Gospel for each week (Revised Common Lectionary) or day (Daily Office Lectionary).

Lectionary readings are designed to assist believers to look at the year thematically.  That is, the reading is related to the season or various cycles of the Church Year — right now, the cycle of the year is coming to a close, and the focus is on the coming of God’s Kingdom — a focus that actually continues as we move into Advent.

There are other daily devotionals covering a wide variety of approaches.  Some include inspirational poetry or writing along with scripture.  Some devotionals are designed to read the entire Bible over a certain period of time (e.g. reading the Bible in a year).  Daily aids to bible study and spiritual development can be longer or shorter.  Abraham Lincoln had a daily devotional book that had a short portion of scripture for each day, followed by an excerpt from a hymn, or poetry or other short saying — both of which could be read together in less than a minute.  The quarterly Adult Bible Studies that we often use in our class has daily scripture references that we are supposed to read between classes.

Do you practice or have you practiced in the past any sort of daily prayer or bible study regimen?  If so, share some of the different routines, devotional books, or other methods you’ve used.  Tell us what you think of different study bibles or devotionals you may have tried.

As early as the late 2nd century, Christians may have observed Epiphany (literally “manifestation”).  The early church also referred to this holiday as the Theophany (“manifestation of God”).  Initially, this feast day celebrated the baptism of Jesus as well as his birth and his first miracles.

Like Pascha, the festival underwent a split sometime in the 4th century.  The earliest mention of the new feast, Christmas, occurs in a document dating to 354 A.D., and lists December 25th as natus Christus in Betleem Iudeae (“Christ born in Bethlehem of Judea”).  Ephiphany continued to be celebrated in the Eastern Church as commerating Christ’s baptism, while in the West it came to signify the visit of the wise men, who represented the manisfestation of God to the Gentiles.

Christians came to see that Christmas and Epiphany needed a preparatory season comparable to Lent in the Easter cycle.  In 380 A.D., a council in Spain decreed that “from December 17 until the day of Epiphany which is Janurary 6 no one is permitted to be absent from Church”.  This was a precedent for Advent in Spain at a time that Christmas was not yet celebrated there.  By the 5th century a forty-day season of preparation for Epiphany was being observed in Gaul.  Rome eventually adopted a season which began the fourth Sunday prior to December 25.

The dates of Christmas and Epiphany may have coincided with pagan festivals surrounding the Winter Solstice.  The origins of the dates are not clear, but the Church has always placed emphasis on light conquering darkness and it is fitting that we celebrate the hope of “God in us” at this time of the year.

At least as early as the Second Century (and perhaps as early as the First — 1Cor. 5:7-8), the Church obseved the Pascha with a great annual Lord’s Day.  This was a time for baptism, laying on of hands and first communion for converts to the faith.  Initially, there was debate over whether the observance should fall on the Jewish dating of the Pascha, which falls on the fourteenth day of the month of Nisan and could be on any day of the week.  Early in the Fourth Century, consensus was reached that the Christian Pascha should always fall on a Sunday.  In the Western Church, the date is fixed on the Sunday after the first full moon on or after March 21 — so Easter is on a different date from year to year: as early as March 22 or as late as April 25.  You’ve probably heard of Easter referred to as a “movable holy day” as opposed to Christmas, which falls on December 25 each year.  This is a result of the combining of the old tradition of a lunar calendar with the new tradition of following a solar calendar.

At first, Easter was celebrated on a single day, but during the course of the Fourth Century, the observance was spread out over a week — beginning with Passion/Palm Sunday, proceeding through the week to Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Eve and Day.  Again, we see the intersection of the old and the new in observances of Easter Eve, All Saints’ Eve, Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve and the like.  In the Jewish tradition, days began at evening, in the new tradition of the Risen Lord, we focus on sunrise.

Second in importance to the Pascha in the early church was the observance of Pentecost.  Pentecost was also a Jewish feast day dating back centuries.  Originally is was a festival of the first harvest commanded in Lev. 23:16, “The day after the seventh sabbath will make fifty days, and then you shall present to the Lord a grain-offering from the new crop”.  It later came to represent the giving of the law at Mount Sinai.  The word “Pentecost” translates literally from the Greek as the “fiftieth day”.   Early Christians celebrated Pentecost as the anniversary of the Ascension of Christ and the descent of the Holy Spirit on the apostles.  Like Easter, it was a time for the baptism of new converts.  By the middle of the Fourth Century, the date of celebrating the Ascension had moved to the fortieth day following the Resurrection and we now commerate Pentecost as the day of the descent of the Holy Spirit.

Because of the connection to baptism, the laying on of hands and first communion for new converts, there developed a time of preparation for the newly converted to prepare for joining the Church.  Eventually this forty day period (excluding Sundays) came to be a time of reflection and penitence for all Christians in preparation for Easter — the part of the Church calendar we now observe as Lent.

Unlike the secular observance of Easter, the Church celebrates Easter beginning with the Resurrection through the fifty days to Pentecost.  The period from Easter to Pentecost is a time of joy and triumph and is like a yearly Day of the Lord, constituting approximately one-seventh of the year.  Together with Lent, this is referred to as the “Easter Cycle” in Church Time.

We see this even on the archive calendar on our blog.  The first day of the week is Sunday.  This isn’t an accident — one of the options in setting up the blogging software is to select the day of the week the calendar should begin with.  Choosing Sunday instead of Saturday or Monday (which many calendars now begin with) can be a statement of belief.

The New Handbook of the Christian Year (Abingdon Press) states at pp 17-18:

The celebration of the Lord’s Day has from the beginning been a way in which the church has witnessed to its faith.  On the first day of creation, “God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light; and God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from darkness.  He called the light day and the darkness night.  So evening came, and morning came, the first day” (Gen. 1:3-5 NEB).  All four Gospels are careful to state that it was the morning of the first day — the day on which creation had begun and the moment God had “separated light from darkness” — that the empty tomb was discovered.

Every Sunday witnesses to the resurrection.  In making this central statement about our faith, we give Sunday precedence over all other occasions in the church calendar — that’s why Sundays within Lent are exempt from that season of penitence.  As we study the Easter cycle, the Christmas cycle and other aspects of the church year, we need to keep in mind the preeminence of the Lord’s Day as the foundation of Christian Time.

How have you viewed Sunday in the context of other days and seasons we celebrate as Christians?  How does that view affect your celebration of the Lord’s Day?