one can be born anytime, but statistically one is most likely to be born very early in the morning on a new moon, the second most popular time being very early in the morning on a full moon.
likewise one may be reborn--that is, baptized and chrismated-at any time, but the church has long--1800 years long--considered the great fifty days of easter the best time, particularly during the easter vigil. the image of our baptism's partaking of the passover of the lord is even older. to the romans paul wrote, in a passage used as the epistle in the easter vigil,
"you have been taught that when we were baptised in christ jesus we were baptized in his death; in other words, when we were baptized we went into the tomb with him and joined him in death, so that as christ was raised from the dead by the father's glory, we too might live a new life.
"if in union with christ we have imitated his death, we shall imitate him in his resurrection." (romans 6:3-5)
that "we too might live a new life," that we might have the power to "imitate him in his resurrectin," christ jesus gave us the gift of "another comforter, the holy spirit." (john 14:26) this gift is in the new testament an inseparable part of the paschal event, either as happening on one day, as in john's gospel (john 20:19-22), or as the climactic event of the fifty days, as in the writings of luke (acts 2:1-4).
unfortunately the church in the west for the most part lost or abandoned, but by the grace of god is recovering and reclaiming, the power of the great fifty days, and the interconnectedness of the resurrectin of christ and the gift of the holy spirit. i believe the intimate relationship between christian initiation and christian understanding of the mighty acts of god in restoring jesus to life and sending the holy spirit is proven by the parallel ways we have separated and reunited them. rather than go into a detailed history of that understanding, let me refer the reader to the works of daniel stevnick in the bibliography, and remind one that the eastern church has never separated baptism--the immersion of the penitent in water three times as he or she confesses her belief in the father and the son and the holy spirit--from chrismation--the anointing of the newly baptised christian with oil--nor has she ever abandoned the keeping of the great gifty days.
the church in the west is recovering the understanding of that unity, if in bits and pieces. both united methodists and episcopalians, for instance, have restored to the baptismal liturgy the laying-on-of-hands that had been understood as part of confirmation, the west's development of chrismation. the episcopal church has restored at least the option of chrismation. the church of south india, that remarkable reunion of many fragments of the great church, has restored the putting on of a white garment, the ancient action referring to the description of the church in the revelation to john that gave pentecost sunday the name whitsunday in england when people waited as late in the fifty days as possible for baptism so the rivers would be less cold. no one, so far as i know, has returned to the ancient practice of requiring the baptismal candidate to put aside all garments, even jewelry, as a sign of renouncing the old life. but all of the church which acknowledges even the slightest importance of apostolic tradition is recovering easter, the pascha, as fifty days, the great week of weeks, the time to celebrate the mighty acts of god in which we are graced to participate through baptism in water and in fire.
Friday, February 8, 2008
24a. a discursus
at first the church baptised immediately on profession of faith (see acts). but it was not long before a two or three year period of catechesis came to be norma. it is not entirely known why this happened. a common explaination is that as christianity became the official religion of the empire, people were coming to conversion with little or no idea of what that meant. karl rahner makes a passing remark in on heresy that the new emphasis on teaching was a response to heresies, especially gnosticism. when one considers that jesus spent three years with the disciples and they were often very slow to understand, the catechesis makes good sense. during this second period, baptism came under the close supervision of the bishops, who were in charge of a local church. deacons and priests had their role in the actual ceremony, as hipppolytus of rome described in the apostolic tradition, but the bishop did the actual annointing, the "chrismation" that underlies the words "christ" and "christian." hippolytus' description of the practice in this second period is worth considering at length:
"At the hour in which the cock crows, they shall first pray over the water. When
they come to the water, the water shall be pure and flowing, that is, the water of a spring
or a flowing body of water. Then they shall take off all their clothes. The children shall be
baptized first. All of the children who can answer for themselves, let them answer. If there
are any children who cannot answer for themselves, let their parents answer for them, or
someone else from their family. After this, the men will be baptized. Finally, the women,
after they have unbound their hair, and removed their jewelry. No one shall take any
foreign object with themselves down into the water.
"At the time determined for baptism, the bishop shall give thanks over some oil, which he
puts in a vessel. It is called the Oil of Thanksgiving. He shall take some more oil and
exorcise it. It is called the Oil of Exorcism. A deacon shall hold the Oil of Exorcism and
stand on the left. Another deacon shall hold the Oil of Thanksgiving and stand on the right.
"When the elder takes hold of each of them who are to receive baptism, he shall tell each
of them to renounce, saying, "I renounce you Satan, all your servicea, and all your works."
After he has said this, he shall anoint each with the Oil of Exorcism, saying, "Let every
evil spirit depart from you." Then, after these things, the bishop passes each of them on
nude to the elder who stands at the water. They shall stand in the water naked. A deacon,
likewise, will go down with them into the water. When each of them to be baptized has
gone down into the water, the one baptizing shall lay hands on each of them, asking, "Do
you believe in God the Father Almighty?" And the one being baptized shall answer, "I
believe." He shall then baptize each of them once, laying his hand upon each of their
heads. Then he shall ask, "Do you believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was
born of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, who was crucified under Pontius Pilate, and
died, and rose on the third day living from the dead, and ascended into heaven, and sat
down at the right hand of the Father, the one coming to judge the living and the dead?"
When each has answered, "I believe," he shall baptize a second time. Then he shall
ask, "Do you believe in the Holy Spirit and the Holy Church and the resurrection of the
flesh?" Then each being baptized shall answer, "I believe." And thus let him baptize the
third time.
"Afterward, when they have come up out of the water, they shall be anointed by the
elder with the Oil of Thanksgiving, saying, "I anoint you with holy oil in the name of Jesus
Christ." Then, drying themselves, they shall dress and afterwards gather in the church.
"The bishop will then lay his hand upon them, invoking, saying,
'Lord God, you who have made these worthy
of the removal of sins through the bath of regeneration,
make them worthy to be filled with your Holy Spirit,
grant to them your grace,
that they might serve you according to your will,
for to you is the glory,
Father and Son
with the Holy Spirit,
in the Holy Church,
now and throughout the ages of the ages.
Amen.'
"After this he pours the oil into his hand, and laying his hand on each of their heads, says,
'I anoint you with holy oil
in God the Father Almighty,
and Christ Jesus,
and the Holy Spirit.'
"Then, after sealing each of them on the forehead, he shall give them the kiss of peace
and say,
'The Lord be with you.'
And the one who has been baptized shall say,
'And with your spirit.'"
as the church grew, the powerful expressions of the nature of baptism as initiation into the one, undivided church of christ, represented by the bishop, consisting of those who had died and risen with christ, began to change, both in how it was performed and in what it meant. bishops no longer present at each baptism.
in the west the annointing by the bishop continued to be a necessary part of christian initiation, but separated in time from baptism, sometimes by many years, and called confirmation. in the east the entire ritual came to be performed by priests.
the meaning of the rise, especially in the west, came to be less about initiation into the community of those "who were being saved" and more about individual salvation. with each schism and division that tore the Church into different "churches," the image of community became less clear and that of individual salvation more prominent.
"At the hour in which the cock crows, they shall first pray over the water. When
they come to the water, the water shall be pure and flowing, that is, the water of a spring
or a flowing body of water. Then they shall take off all their clothes. The children shall be
baptized first. All of the children who can answer for themselves, let them answer. If there
are any children who cannot answer for themselves, let their parents answer for them, or
someone else from their family. After this, the men will be baptized. Finally, the women,
after they have unbound their hair, and removed their jewelry. No one shall take any
foreign object with themselves down into the water.
"At the time determined for baptism, the bishop shall give thanks over some oil, which he
puts in a vessel. It is called the Oil of Thanksgiving. He shall take some more oil and
exorcise it. It is called the Oil of Exorcism. A deacon shall hold the Oil of Exorcism and
stand on the left. Another deacon shall hold the Oil of Thanksgiving and stand on the right.
"When the elder takes hold of each of them who are to receive baptism, he shall tell each
of them to renounce, saying, "I renounce you Satan, all your servicea, and all your works."
After he has said this, he shall anoint each with the Oil of Exorcism, saying, "Let every
evil spirit depart from you." Then, after these things, the bishop passes each of them on
nude to the elder who stands at the water. They shall stand in the water naked. A deacon,
likewise, will go down with them into the water. When each of them to be baptized has
gone down into the water, the one baptizing shall lay hands on each of them, asking, "Do
you believe in God the Father Almighty?" And the one being baptized shall answer, "I
believe." He shall then baptize each of them once, laying his hand upon each of their
heads. Then he shall ask, "Do you believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was
born of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, who was crucified under Pontius Pilate, and
died, and rose on the third day living from the dead, and ascended into heaven, and sat
down at the right hand of the Father, the one coming to judge the living and the dead?"
When each has answered, "I believe," he shall baptize a second time. Then he shall
ask, "Do you believe in the Holy Spirit and the Holy Church and the resurrection of the
flesh?" Then each being baptized shall answer, "I believe." And thus let him baptize the
third time.
"Afterward, when they have come up out of the water, they shall be anointed by the
elder with the Oil of Thanksgiving, saying, "I anoint you with holy oil in the name of Jesus
Christ." Then, drying themselves, they shall dress and afterwards gather in the church.
"The bishop will then lay his hand upon them, invoking, saying,
'Lord God, you who have made these worthy
of the removal of sins through the bath of regeneration,
make them worthy to be filled with your Holy Spirit,
grant to them your grace,
that they might serve you according to your will,
for to you is the glory,
Father and Son
with the Holy Spirit,
in the Holy Church,
now and throughout the ages of the ages.
Amen.'
"After this he pours the oil into his hand, and laying his hand on each of their heads, says,
'I anoint you with holy oil
in God the Father Almighty,
and Christ Jesus,
and the Holy Spirit.'
"Then, after sealing each of them on the forehead, he shall give them the kiss of peace
and say,
'The Lord be with you.'
And the one who has been baptized shall say,
'And with your spirit.'"
as the church grew, the powerful expressions of the nature of baptism as initiation into the one, undivided church of christ, represented by the bishop, consisting of those who had died and risen with christ, began to change, both in how it was performed and in what it meant. bishops no longer present at each baptism.
in the west the annointing by the bishop continued to be a necessary part of christian initiation, but separated in time from baptism, sometimes by many years, and called confirmation. in the east the entire ritual came to be performed by priests.
the meaning of the rise, especially in the west, came to be less about initiation into the community of those "who were being saved" and more about individual salvation. with each schism and division that tore the Church into different "churches," the image of community became less clear and that of individual salvation more prominent.
25. the day: the daily office
"Sunrise, sunset
Sunrise, sunset
Swiftly fly the years
One season following another
Laden with happiness and tears" (sheldon harnick)
"our physical, emotional, and social systems follow a twenty-four hour cycle. this cycle normally provides an alteration of fatigue and rest, hunger and eating, work and leisure, which becomes basic to our consciousness of ourselves and our world. man must relate himself to the day and accept the discipline of it. we must begin every day with the will to make it a meaningful and useful day; but we must also be content to accep the close of the day in spite of the awareness that we may have accomplished little we must be able to sleep with reasonable confidence that we will not be attacked by enemies, beats, dreams, or demons--yet we must be wise enough to take reasonable preacautions for ourselves and others. finally, we must not be surprised that a day will come when do do not awake. a balanced and fully human life thus demands that we accept the discipline of living day by day, while not forgetting the necessity of long-range planning in many particular matters. we must have the faith that the day is good, and thankfully receive the daily bread that our heavenly father gives." (from prayer book studies 22)
"will you continue in the apostles' teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of the bread, and in the prayers?
"i will, with god's help." (the baptismal covenant, bcp, 1979)
the daily cycle of prayer is so simple, so repititious, that it is easy to dismiss it as merely a rote act, or "unspiritual." all sunsets are the same, too. the daily prayer of the church, the "daily office," is not telling god what we want god to do or what we want to do, asking for a blessing for what we have already decided whether it is god's will or not. it is prayer with the words given by the holy spirit, the psalms, and listening to god's speaking to us in holy scripture.
the invariable rhythm of the canticles and intercessions, the longer rhythm of the psalms, the annual rhythm of the lessons from the scripture, weave us together in a pattern as simple as our inevitable death, as complex as our unspeakable life. this rhythm provides the context in which everything else in life takes place, and underlies its comprehensibility.
Sunrise, sunset
Swiftly fly the years
One season following another
Laden with happiness and tears" (sheldon harnick)
"our physical, emotional, and social systems follow a twenty-four hour cycle. this cycle normally provides an alteration of fatigue and rest, hunger and eating, work and leisure, which becomes basic to our consciousness of ourselves and our world. man must relate himself to the day and accept the discipline of it. we must begin every day with the will to make it a meaningful and useful day; but we must also be content to accep the close of the day in spite of the awareness that we may have accomplished little we must be able to sleep with reasonable confidence that we will not be attacked by enemies, beats, dreams, or demons--yet we must be wise enough to take reasonable preacautions for ourselves and others. finally, we must not be surprised that a day will come when do do not awake. a balanced and fully human life thus demands that we accept the discipline of living day by day, while not forgetting the necessity of long-range planning in many particular matters. we must have the faith that the day is good, and thankfully receive the daily bread that our heavenly father gives." (from prayer book studies 22)
"will you continue in the apostles' teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of the bread, and in the prayers?
"i will, with god's help." (the baptismal covenant, bcp, 1979)
the daily cycle of prayer is so simple, so repititious, that it is easy to dismiss it as merely a rote act, or "unspiritual." all sunsets are the same, too. the daily prayer of the church, the "daily office," is not telling god what we want god to do or what we want to do, asking for a blessing for what we have already decided whether it is god's will or not. it is prayer with the words given by the holy spirit, the psalms, and listening to god's speaking to us in holy scripture.
the invariable rhythm of the canticles and intercessions, the longer rhythm of the psalms, the annual rhythm of the lessons from the scripture, weave us together in a pattern as simple as our inevitable death, as complex as our unspeakable life. this rhythm provides the context in which everything else in life takes place, and underlies its comprehensibility.
26. the ember days: ordination
as many people, christian and otherwise, have moved to the cities and adopted their commercian calendars, and as even those who live in "rural" areas have come to get their holy times from the television, ember days have mostly fallen to the wayside. this should not surprise us.
"the ember days constitute a very interesting feature of the christian year, possessing one characteristic which is entirely unique. they are the only component of our annual observances in the church whose ultimate origins lay only in the 'natural' or solar year, which gave form to most primitive religions. . . . 'the ember days of the four seasons' began by being exactly what that name implies. they were in latin the quattuor tempora, a term fused into the teutonic quatember and curtailed into the english ember. they were derived from pagan agricultural observances which originally were three in number, devoted to the winter sowing in december,the summer reaping in june, and the autumn vintage in september. it was leo the great who added the lenten days to bring the number up to the four annual fasts of the jews." so wrote the standing liturgical commission of the episcopal church in prayer book studies xii: the propers for the minor holy days (new york: church pension fund, 1958)(, pp. 84-85.)
in the church year the ember days have been times of fasting and prayer before ordinations, and time for the priesthood, both ordained priests and the royal priesthood that is the whole body of christ, to reflect on how well we are carrying out our commission.
so it is as a complaint that the standing liturgical commission wrote, "the agricultural origin of the days is still discernible in some of the lections . . . prescribed in the roman missal. it also accounts for the fact that not one single lection therein has the slightest bearing upon the holy ministry." (p. )
their complaint misses the understanding that is the basis of this whole essay, which is that the holy one uses time, and the events specific to particular times, as a prophetic self-revelation, even though, "in our own time, the last days, he has spoken to us through his son." (hebrews 1:2)
no parable is more central to the gospels that the parable of the sower. one might even argue that in the relative parable-poor gospel according to mark, it and the discussion around it has a role similar to mattthew's sermon on the mount or luke's sermon on the plain:
""listen! imagine a sower going out to sow. now it happened that, as he sowed, some of the seed fell on the edge of the path, and the birds came and ate it up. some seed fell on rocky ground where it found little soil and sprang up straightaway, because it had no depth of earth; and when the sun came up it was scorched and, not having any roots, it withered away. some seed fell into thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it produced no crop. and some seeds fell into rich soil and, growing tall and strong, produced rich crop; and yielded thirty, sixty, even a hundred fold.' and he said, 'listen, anyone who has ears to hear.'" (mark 4:3-9)
add to this parable john's description of the harvest, and an agricultural typology for ministry is quite fully evoked:
"have you not a saying:
four months and then the harvest?
well, i tell you:
look around you, look at the fields;
already they are white, ready for harvest." (john 4:35)
"the ember days constitute a very interesting feature of the christian year, possessing one characteristic which is entirely unique. they are the only component of our annual observances in the church whose ultimate origins lay only in the 'natural' or solar year, which gave form to most primitive religions. . . . 'the ember days of the four seasons' began by being exactly what that name implies. they were in latin the quattuor tempora, a term fused into the teutonic quatember and curtailed into the english ember. they were derived from pagan agricultural observances which originally were three in number, devoted to the winter sowing in december,the summer reaping in june, and the autumn vintage in september. it was leo the great who added the lenten days to bring the number up to the four annual fasts of the jews." so wrote the standing liturgical commission of the episcopal church in prayer book studies xii: the propers for the minor holy days (new york: church pension fund, 1958)(, pp. 84-85.)
in the church year the ember days have been times of fasting and prayer before ordinations, and time for the priesthood, both ordained priests and the royal priesthood that is the whole body of christ, to reflect on how well we are carrying out our commission.
so it is as a complaint that the standing liturgical commission wrote, "the agricultural origin of the days is still discernible in some of the lections . . . prescribed in the roman missal. it also accounts for the fact that not one single lection therein has the slightest bearing upon the holy ministry." (p. )
their complaint misses the understanding that is the basis of this whole essay, which is that the holy one uses time, and the events specific to particular times, as a prophetic self-revelation, even though, "in our own time, the last days, he has spoken to us through his son." (hebrews 1:2)
no parable is more central to the gospels that the parable of the sower. one might even argue that in the relative parable-poor gospel according to mark, it and the discussion around it has a role similar to mattthew's sermon on the mount or luke's sermon on the plain:
""listen! imagine a sower going out to sow. now it happened that, as he sowed, some of the seed fell on the edge of the path, and the birds came and ate it up. some seed fell on rocky ground where it found little soil and sprang up straightaway, because it had no depth of earth; and when the sun came up it was scorched and, not having any roots, it withered away. some seed fell into thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it produced no crop. and some seeds fell into rich soil and, growing tall and strong, produced rich crop; and yielded thirty, sixty, even a hundred fold.' and he said, 'listen, anyone who has ears to hear.'" (mark 4:3-9)
add to this parable john's description of the harvest, and an agricultural typology for ministry is quite fully evoked:
"have you not a saying:
four months and then the harvest?
well, i tell you:
look around you, look at the fields;
already they are white, ready for harvest." (john 4:35)
27. may: marriage
"o father, all creating,
whose wisdom, love and power,
first bound two lives together
in eden's primal hour,
to-day in these thy children
thine earliest gifts renew . . . ." (j. ellerton)
there was a time in england when all of may was kept to onour the virgin mother of our lord. since she is seen as the model of the church, the bridge of christ, may was the most popular time for marriages.
marriage became attatched to may for other, perhaps more mysterious if related reasons as well. the feast of pentecost most often falls in may, when the holy spirit comes upon the whole church, making her a christ-bearer, just as the spirit had come upon mary. paul explored the imagery of the church as the bride of christ and what that image suggests for christian marriage in his letter to the church at ephesus:
". . . christ loved the church and sacrificed himself for her to make her holy. he made her clean by washing her in water with a form of words, so that when he took her to himself she would be glorious, with no speck or wrinkle or anything like that, but holy and faultless. in the same way husbands must love their wives as they love their own bodies . . . . that is the way christ treats the church, because it is his body . . . . this mystery has many implications; but i am saying it applies to christ and the church. to sum up, you too, each of you, just love his wife as he loves himself; and let every wife respect her husband." (ephesians 5:25-33)
there were additionally some pre-christian reasons for the popularity of may as the marriage month. one of the most popular beltane celebrations was the maypole, around which men and women wound strips of cloth, walking in opposite directions. after it was wound they might go into the fields to make love, encouraging the sun and earth to follow their example and be fertile. (beltane is the beginning of summer in the celtic calendar.)
in all of these examples, marriage is seen as a re-uniting or uniting of opposites, either restoring the original bliss of creation, as suggested by j. ellerton's hymn from the english hymnal, or leading to the desired bliss of creation, as in the maypole activities. it is no wonder then that the most powerful image of the relationship of christ and the church is that of marriage. the reading that most powerfully illustrates this is the song of songs, which is read at passover in the jewish liturgy.
for many such a physical depiction of love and life is shocking to find in the bible. but it has been called in the midrash (the ancient oral commentary on the jewish scriptures) the most holy of books. as such, it's association with marriage and the period following easter is another indication of the power of the seasons of the year as revelation of the love of the holy one, and of the holiness of all creation. rather than suggesting that pagan activities surrounding the beginning of summer are mis-placed, it becomes apparent that the desire for reunion is also fulfilled in the mystery of the christ.
whose wisdom, love and power,
first bound two lives together
in eden's primal hour,
to-day in these thy children
thine earliest gifts renew . . . ." (j. ellerton)
there was a time in england when all of may was kept to onour the virgin mother of our lord. since she is seen as the model of the church, the bridge of christ, may was the most popular time for marriages.
marriage became attatched to may for other, perhaps more mysterious if related reasons as well. the feast of pentecost most often falls in may, when the holy spirit comes upon the whole church, making her a christ-bearer, just as the spirit had come upon mary. paul explored the imagery of the church as the bride of christ and what that image suggests for christian marriage in his letter to the church at ephesus:
". . . christ loved the church and sacrificed himself for her to make her holy. he made her clean by washing her in water with a form of words, so that when he took her to himself she would be glorious, with no speck or wrinkle or anything like that, but holy and faultless. in the same way husbands must love their wives as they love their own bodies . . . . that is the way christ treats the church, because it is his body . . . . this mystery has many implications; but i am saying it applies to christ and the church. to sum up, you too, each of you, just love his wife as he loves himself; and let every wife respect her husband." (ephesians 5:25-33)
there were additionally some pre-christian reasons for the popularity of may as the marriage month. one of the most popular beltane celebrations was the maypole, around which men and women wound strips of cloth, walking in opposite directions. after it was wound they might go into the fields to make love, encouraging the sun and earth to follow their example and be fertile. (beltane is the beginning of summer in the celtic calendar.)
in all of these examples, marriage is seen as a re-uniting or uniting of opposites, either restoring the original bliss of creation, as suggested by j. ellerton's hymn from the english hymnal, or leading to the desired bliss of creation, as in the maypole activities. it is no wonder then that the most powerful image of the relationship of christ and the church is that of marriage. the reading that most powerfully illustrates this is the song of songs, which is read at passover in the jewish liturgy.
for many such a physical depiction of love and life is shocking to find in the bible. but it has been called in the midrash (the ancient oral commentary on the jewish scriptures) the most holy of books. as such, it's association with marriage and the period following easter is another indication of the power of the seasons of the year as revelation of the love of the holy one, and of the holiness of all creation. rather than suggesting that pagan activities surrounding the beginning of summer are mis-placed, it becomes apparent that the desire for reunion is also fulfilled in the mystery of the christ.
28. death and the world to come: advent
sunset of the eve of the last day of november: st. andrew's day. for the western church this is the beginning of the advent season. the hills all around are dark, cloaked in winter blue, the blue-black of ink. yet they are outlined with a golden dark glow that makes winter vespers the most hopeful times of the year, what the eastern church calls the bright darkness.
of this time gertrude mueller nelson has written, "it is advent, and the whole world is pregnant." we tend easily to assume we know who will be born: the baby jesus, the christ child. we seldom seriously reflect on "what child is this?" but herod knew. this child is the death of the old world, the old regime, the old self. for many of us this is more than we want to bear, so we, like herod, try to deny the birth, to kill the child. (matthew 2:1-18) we cover the bright darkness with watts and watts of "christmas lights." rather than recognize that "light . . . shines in the darkness"(john 1:5), rather than "casting off the works of darkness" (collect for the first sunday of advent), we put on a cloak of pretended joy, as if death did not await each of us.
"yet in the dark street shineth the everlasting light." (phillips brooks)
the death that we would avoid is the only way to eternal life:
"unless a wheat grain falls on the ground and dies,
it remains only a single grain;
but if it dies,
it yields a rich harvest.
any one who loves his life loses it . . . ." (john 12:24-25)
in the worlds of the mayan creation myth of the first father, "death is the door to awe." in advent we are allowed pass through the darkness of all that is old, of all that is dead, of all that no longer serves our true self, into the light of new and eternal life. this is a great and beautiful mystery. alas, many of us pass through the mystery without ever noticing it.
the eastern church honors and says farewell to the old dispensation by commemorating the old testament prophets at the beginning of december. for all the church the most significant advent saints are john, the great forerunner of the light, the greatest and last of the prophets of the old covenant, and mary the virgin mother, the first to enter the new kingdom, who took the word of god into her very body, giving birth to god the son.
all too often we react to the good news of the coming of the true king, who
". . . comes to judge the earth,
to judge the world with justice
and the nations with his truth: (psalm 96:13)
as did herod. rather than letting go our "carved images and . . . vain gods" (psalm 98:7), our understandings and pretentions and projections, we are willing to kill the innocent. we limit advent to preparing for the birth of the christ child, but we allow no room in our hearts for the child to grow.
but equally available is the way chosen by simeon, who had spent his life seeking not self-aggrandizement but "the consolation of israel" (luke 2:25), and whose song has ever since been the prayer of christians at the end of their days and at the end of their lives:
"now, master, you can let your servant go peace,
just as you promised;
because my eyes have seen the salvation
which you have prepared for all the nations to see,
a light to enlighten the pagans
and the glory of your people israel.: (luke 2:29-32)
of this time gertrude mueller nelson has written, "it is advent, and the whole world is pregnant." we tend easily to assume we know who will be born: the baby jesus, the christ child. we seldom seriously reflect on "what child is this?" but herod knew. this child is the death of the old world, the old regime, the old self. for many of us this is more than we want to bear, so we, like herod, try to deny the birth, to kill the child. (matthew 2:1-18) we cover the bright darkness with watts and watts of "christmas lights." rather than recognize that "light . . . shines in the darkness"(john 1:5), rather than "casting off the works of darkness" (collect for the first sunday of advent), we put on a cloak of pretended joy, as if death did not await each of us.
"yet in the dark street shineth the everlasting light." (phillips brooks)
the death that we would avoid is the only way to eternal life:
"unless a wheat grain falls on the ground and dies,
it remains only a single grain;
but if it dies,
it yields a rich harvest.
any one who loves his life loses it . . . ." (john 12:24-25)
in the worlds of the mayan creation myth of the first father, "death is the door to awe." in advent we are allowed pass through the darkness of all that is old, of all that is dead, of all that no longer serves our true self, into the light of new and eternal life. this is a great and beautiful mystery. alas, many of us pass through the mystery without ever noticing it.
the eastern church honors and says farewell to the old dispensation by commemorating the old testament prophets at the beginning of december. for all the church the most significant advent saints are john, the great forerunner of the light, the greatest and last of the prophets of the old covenant, and mary the virgin mother, the first to enter the new kingdom, who took the word of god into her very body, giving birth to god the son.
all too often we react to the good news of the coming of the true king, who
". . . comes to judge the earth,
to judge the world with justice
and the nations with his truth: (psalm 96:13)
as did herod. rather than letting go our "carved images and . . . vain gods" (psalm 98:7), our understandings and pretentions and projections, we are willing to kill the innocent. we limit advent to preparing for the birth of the christ child, but we allow no room in our hearts for the child to grow.
but equally available is the way chosen by simeon, who had spent his life seeking not self-aggrandizement but "the consolation of israel" (luke 2:25), and whose song has ever since been the prayer of christians at the end of their days and at the end of their lives:
"now, master, you can let your servant go peace,
just as you promised;
because my eyes have seen the salvation
which you have prepared for all the nations to see,
a light to enlighten the pagans
and the glory of your people israel.: (luke 2:29-32)
29. christmas: healing
"mild he lays his glory by,
born that man no more may die,
born to raise the sons of earth,
born to give them second birth.
risen with healing in his wings,
life and light to all he brings,
hail, the sun of righteousness!
hail, the heaven-born prince of peace!" (charles wesley)
nothing said above about advent should be understood as acceptance of death as "normal."
"christianity is not reconciliation with death. it is the revelation of death, and it reveals death because it is the revelation of life. christ is this life. and only if christ is life is death what christianity proclaims it to be, namely the enemy to be destroyed and not a 'mystery' to be explained. religion and secularism, by explaining death, give it a 'status,' a rationale, make it 'normal.' only christianity proclaims it to be abnormal and, therefore, truly horrible."
(alexander schmemann)
in christ is fulfilled the prophecy that death will be swallowed up in victory. (isaiah 25:8; romans 15:54). often we think of that victory's being won only at calvary, by the crucifixion. but all of human life is transformed by the incarnation. everything that god the son assumes in his humanity is healed, which is the usual meaning of the greek word often translated "saved." eternal life is possible for human beings because the eternally begotten son of the father entered time as the son of mary.
"o that birth for ever blesssed,
when the virgin, full of grace,
by the holy ghost conceiving,
bare the saviour of our race;
and the babe, the world's redeemer,
first revealed his sacred face . . . ." (a.c. prudentius)
"what child is this . . .?
this, this is christ the king,
. . .
the babe, the son of mary." (w.c. dix)
"for he must be king until he has put all his enemies under his feet, and the last of the enemies to be destroyed is death." (1 corinthians 15:24-25)
born that man no more may die,
born to raise the sons of earth,
born to give them second birth.
risen with healing in his wings,
life and light to all he brings,
hail, the sun of righteousness!
hail, the heaven-born prince of peace!" (charles wesley)
nothing said above about advent should be understood as acceptance of death as "normal."
"christianity is not reconciliation with death. it is the revelation of death, and it reveals death because it is the revelation of life. christ is this life. and only if christ is life is death what christianity proclaims it to be, namely the enemy to be destroyed and not a 'mystery' to be explained. religion and secularism, by explaining death, give it a 'status,' a rationale, make it 'normal.' only christianity proclaims it to be abnormal and, therefore, truly horrible."
(alexander schmemann)
in christ is fulfilled the prophecy that death will be swallowed up in victory. (isaiah 25:8; romans 15:54). often we think of that victory's being won only at calvary, by the crucifixion. but all of human life is transformed by the incarnation. everything that god the son assumes in his humanity is healed, which is the usual meaning of the greek word often translated "saved." eternal life is possible for human beings because the eternally begotten son of the father entered time as the son of mary.
"o that birth for ever blesssed,
when the virgin, full of grace,
by the holy ghost conceiving,
bare the saviour of our race;
and the babe, the world's redeemer,
first revealed his sacred face . . . ." (a.c. prudentius)
"what child is this . . .?
this, this is christ the king,
. . .
the babe, the son of mary." (w.c. dix)
"for he must be king until he has put all his enemies under his feet, and the last of the enemies to be destroyed is death." (1 corinthians 15:24-25)
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