January 1, 2009
Dear People of God,
The Twelve Days of Christmastide
The Advent waiting now is done
And Mary has her little Son;
For Him our hearts are open wide –
And so begins the Christmastide!
For twelve more days – each Holy Night –
His Star and Angels bring us light.
Now Gifts and Treasures they’ll reveal
If in some quiet times we kneel,
Remembering – ‘mid season’s joy –
Why Wise Men sought that Holy Boy.
Then bless’d will be our Christmastide
Through which the Wise Three Kings still ride.
When Christianity became the religion of the Roman Empire, the days between December 25 and January 6 became known as the Twelve Holy Days. The northern Germanic peoples figure their calendars by nights rather than by days and so for them, the Holy Days became the ‘Holy Nights.’ These days and nights bear the name of Christmastide. On various traditional church calendars Christmastide includes St. Stephen’s Day or Boxing Day – December 26; the day of St. John the Evangelist – December 27; Holy Innocents Day – December 28; New Year’s Eve ‘Night Watch’ – December 31; and Holy Name Day (New Year’s Day) – January 1.
January 6, too, has its variety of names, such as: Epiphany, Twelfth Day, Thirteenth Day and Three Kings Day. The religious celebration of this day commemorates three great events in the life of Jesus Christ: His baptism in the river Jordan; the visit of the Wise Men; and Christ’s first recorded miracle – changing water into wine at the wedding in Cana.
The Christian Festival of Epiphany is even older than the celebration of Christmas! ‘Epiphany’ means ‘manifestation’ or ‘appearance’ and originally this day celebrated the Baptism of Jesus. It was then that John the Baptist saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove upon Jesus and heard the voice of God saying, “This is my Beloved Son.” Thus, during the Baptism, God became manifest in Jesus Christ.
Since the fifth century, however, the celebration of Epiphany in Western Churches stresses the Visit of the Wise Men to the Christ Child. To them it was manifested that the Saviour of mankind had been born.
In some lands this festive day is popularly called Three Kings’ Day. Throughout the ages these stately Wise Men have captured the imagination of young and old alike. Even today, in many lands, people crowd the streets to watch colourful pageants and parades in which the Three Kings ride. In most Spanish-speaking countries it is at Three Kings’ time, rather than at Christmas, that children receive their gifts. The gift bringers are the Three Kings themselves.
In other countries, children form small groups and walk through their neighborhoods or villages on the eve of Three Kings’ Day. A child who carries a star at the end of a pole leads each group. Often the ‘star followers’ are dressed to represent the Three Kings.
The Bible tells us little about the Three Kings. It does not tell us that they were ‘Kings’ or ‘Magi’ or even how many came to worship the Holy Child. We are told only “there came wise men from the east”. Yet church traditions, as well as legends and stories about the Three Kings, are rich with images, which speak to our hearts.
One such story ends like this: “… they followed the Star into the town until they saw it hovering over a certain house. They entered and there they found the Christ child, asleep in Mary’s arms. Reverently the Wise Men, in their kingly garb, sank to their knees to adore Him. One be one, in the name of all mankind, they presented their gifts to the sleeping child.
‘Oh, Holy Child,’ prayed Melchior, ‘You who will bring the golden light of heavenly wisdom into the thoughts of men and women – accept my offering of gold!’
‘Oh, Holy Child,’ prayed Balthazar, ‘You who will bring to earth the true power to love unselfishly – accept the gift of frankincense.’
‘Oh, Holy Child,’ prayed Caspar, ‘You who will someday save mankind from the forces of death and grant people of good will your power to heal – accept the gift of myrrh.’
For a moment all was peaceful and quiet in the soft glow of the oil lamps within the room. Then, slowly, the tiny Baby stirred and opened His eyes. One of His little hands gently rose and a blissful smile played upon His sweet lips. Gradually the room became filled with light – light more brilliant than that of the guiding Star. The Three Wise Men knew that their gifts had been accepted.” (Speaking of Balthazar, my spell check wanted to change his name to Baldhead ☺).
A reminder – I will be away for my doctoral work and you will have supply clergy for January 11 and January 18. An additional clergy person is available for pastoral emergencies. That information is to be printed in your bulletins and on the office answer machine. The Annual Meeting is January 25, with one service for the parish at 9:00 am followed by the business meeting of the church.
My prayer is that we can all accept the gifts of heavenly wisdom, the power to love unselfishly, the ability to experience joy and humor and the healing and redeeming power of Jesus Christ in our lives this Epiphany and throughout the year.
Peace be with you,
Rev. Mary
