Pax et Bonum, December 28, 2005

Praise the lord, all you nations.
Christ manifest in the flesh,
Christ justified in the spirit.

Praise the Lord, all you nations.
Christ contemplated by the angels,
Christ proclaimed by the pagans.

Praise the Lord, all you nations.
Christ who is believed int eh world,
Christ exalted in glory.

Praise the Lord, all you nations.
Canticle for Evening prayer, Roman rite.

Holy Innocents

Today is the day of remembrance for the Holy Innocents. In Matthew's gospel, the story is told that when Herod discovered that the mission of the wise men was to find the babe born King of the Jews, he had all children under age two murdered by his soldiers. The story is parallel to the story in the Old Testament, when the men of Pharoah's army had all boys under the age of two slaughtered. Matthew forms many parallels between Jesus and Moses in his gospel, reinforcing the calling by God of the great prophet and the Messiah.

Herod committed many atrocities during his reign, and the death of several children in Bethlehem was probably one of the smallest of his crimes. It is said that he even had his own young son killed. The children who died in this Bethlehem massacre are considered the first martyrs of the church they died for Christ without knowing Him.
In the middle ages, the saints' days following Christmas were considered a 'cortege of honor" for the the Christ-Child. These companions included St. Stephen (Dec. 26), John the Apostle (Dec. 27) and the Holy Innocents (Dec. 28). These martyrs were given a special place of honor in the church, and called "Comites Christi", or Companions of Christ.
We remember the Holy Innocents, and in doing so, we remember all children who have suffered at the hands of another, and those who have been troubled by disease. Life is unfair, and the Holy Innocents remind us that God hears, and sees the tragedies that occur on this earth at the hands of human beings. The Holy Innocents cry out for God's justice and peace in this broken world.

Collect for the Holy Innocents:
We remember today, O God, the slaughter of the holy innocents of Bethlehem by King Herod. Receive, we pray, into the arms of your mercy all innocent victims; and by your great might frustrate the designs of evil tyrants and establish your rule of justice, love, and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. AMEN

Sweet little Jesus Boy,
They made you be born in a manger.
Dear little holy child,
And they didn't know ho you was.
Didn't know you came to save us, Lord,
To take our sins away.
Our eyes were blind, we could no see.
We didn't know who you was.

Long time ago, you was born
Born in a manger low,
Sweet little Jesus Boy.
The world treat you mean, Lord.
Treat me mean, too,
But that's how things is down here.
We didn't know 'twas you!
Sweet little Jesus Boy,
Born long time ago,
Dear little Holy Child,
And we didn't know who you was!
Robert Macgimsy

Between this Year and the Next
I have never been particularly successful keeping New Year's resolutions. A few years ago, I gave them up for Lent, and haven't bothered with them since! I find New Years a confusing time. Perhaps it is because, as I have been shaped by the life of the church, the New Year that impacts me the most is the one that begins with the first Sunday of Advent. That is when the gospel changes, and when I switch volumes for Morning Prayer. That is when my mind begins to think through the ramifications of the year liturgically Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, Pentecost…
Ideally, we would begin Advent with time to think! But we all experience the Christmas rush, and the many things that accompany life in our before-Christmas extremis. So perhaps this secular holiday of the New Year is a favor to us after all. Between Christmas and New Years, some of us have a small space in which to breathe deep, get some rest, quiet down, and prepare for the next onslaught of life.
Between this year and the next, I hope to do just that renew and regenerate, prepare and pray. In doing so, I hope to integrate both senses of the New Year into a joyous, grace-filled whole.

Since we cannot make the journey backward into innocence,
Help us go forward into wisdom.
Since we cannot begin again from the beginning,
Help us to go on faithfully from here.
Since we cannot turn ourselves by our own willing,
Do thou turn us toward thee. AMEN
Edward Tyler
Prayers in celebration of the Turning Year

Debra's Midweek Meditation

Song of Simeon

Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying, "Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel."
Luke 2: 28-32

We've passed through the season of waiting and found ourselves in the season of fulfillment.
This, too, is the story of Simeon.
Having waited for many long years for the fulfillment of his hopes, Simeon now may depart in peace.
His eyes have beheld the Christ child-the one who was promised.
We get a sense that this is a brief exchange between Christ and Simeon and Anna.
Their years of waiting are realized in this small moment, but it is a moment charged with sacred depth and timelessness.
We, too, have experiences of waiting and faithfulness which are fulfilled in the blink of an eye.
Think about the faithfulness of parents shepherding children and the faithfulness of children caring for elderly parents.
The daily round of this faithfulness can be tedious and frustrating, and yet, like Simeon we remain faithful because God graces us with a sense of commitment to the task at hand. We are more than weary-we are hopeful.
Christ is here-
The same Christ that fulfilled Simeon's waiting is now fulfilling ours.
Christ is born.
Alleluia!!

Blessings, Debra