O HOLY NIGHT!

CORREGGIO - Nativity (Holy Night) - 1528-30
Gemäldegalerie, Dresden

The Collect

O God, you have caused this holy night to shine with the brightness of the true Light: Grant that we, who have known the mystery of that Light on earth, may also enjoy him perfectly in heaven; where with you and the Holy Spirit he lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

Isaiah 9:2-7

The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light;
those who lived in a land of deep darkness--
on them light has shined.
You have multiplied the nation,
you have increased its joy;
they rejoice before you
as with joy at the harvest,
as people exult when dividing plunder.
For the yoke of their burden,
and the bar across their shoulders,
the rod of their oppressor,
you have broken as on the day of Midian.
For all the boots of the tramping warriors
and all the garments rolled in blood
shall be burned as fuel for the fire.
For a child has been born for us,
a son given to us;
authority rests upon his shoulders;
and he is named
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
His authority shall grow continually,
and there shall be endless peace
for the throne of David and his kingdom.
He will establish and uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
from this time onward and forevermore.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this.

Psalm 96

Sing to the LORD a new song; *
sing to the LORD, all the whole earth.

Sing to the LORD and bless his Name; *
proclaim the good news of his salvation from day to day.

Declare his glory among the nations *
and his wonders among all peoples.

For great is the LORD and greatly to be praised; *
he is more to be feared than all gods.

As for all the gods of the nations, they are but idols; *
but it is the LORD who made the heavens.

Oh, the majesty and magnificence of his presence! *
Oh, the power and the splendor of his sanctuary!

Ascribe to the LORD, you families of the peoples; *
ascribe to the LORD honor and power.

Ascribe to the LORD the honor due his Name; *
bring offerings and come into his courts.

Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness; *
let the whole earth tremble before him.

Tell it out among the nations: "The LORD is King! *
he has made the world so firm that it cannot be moved;
he will judge the peoples with equity."

Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad;
let the sea thunder and all that is in it; *
let the field be joyful and all that is therein.

Then shall all the trees of the wood shout for joy
before the LORD when he comes, *
when he comes to judge the earth.

He will judge the world with righteousness *
and the peoples with his truth.

Titus 2:11-14

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly, while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. He it is who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds.

Luke 2:1-14(15-20)

In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. He went to be registered with Mary, to whom he was engaged and who was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for see-- I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,

"Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace among those whom he favors!"

[When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us." So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. ]

O Holy Night: Kings College Choir, Cambridge

I WISH YOU ALL A BLESSED AND HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

MAY THE LIGHT OF CHRIST, THE NEWBORN KING, PIERCE THE DARKNESS AND FILL YOU WITH JOY!

Image from the Web Gallery of Art.

A TOUCHING CHRISTMAS STORY

A married couple had been out shopping at the mall for most of the afternoon, suddenly, the wife realized that her husband had "disappeared".

The somewhat irate spouse called her mate’s cell phone and demanded: "Where the hell are you?"

Husband: "Darling you remember that Jewelry shop where you saw the Diamond Necklace and totally fell in love with it and I didn't have money that time and I said, 'Baby it'll be yours one day'."

Wife, with a smile blushing: "Yes, I remember that, my Love."

Husband: "Well, I'm in the Bar next to that shop."

Don't blame me. Blame Doug.

TWO STORIES OF THE DAY

ANCIENT KINGS

My grandmother kept a box of old
photos in her attic & we used to go up
there on rainy days & sit on the floor in
the dusty light & go through them & she
would tell about witches & broken
hearts & how we came from royal blood
& it was all there in the pictures, she
said & then we'd lose the light & we'd all
go downstairs for dinner & in our secret
hearts we sat taller knowing once we
had ruled the world.

SEASON OF JOY

She asked me when the season of joy
was supposed to end & I said I didn't
really think there was an exact date, so
we left the tree up till June that year.

From StoryPeople here and here.

BISHOP GEORGE AND BROOK PACKARD INTERVIEW

From Bishop Packard's blog Occupied Bishop:

Though not all are observant Christians, they are respectful of each other's traditions. For example, one OWS member fostered the idea of a full day of carolling starting at midnight and continuing throughout the following day. Now that's "Occupy Christmas"! Others, believers or not, have clustered around this "action" in support.

Read the rest at Bishop George's post, 'Christmas with Occupy'.


H/T to Andrew Gerns at The Lead for the link to the video.

'THE CULTIVATION OF CHRISTMAS TREES' - T S ELIOT

There are several attitudes towards Christmas,
Some of which we may disregard:
The social, the torpid, the patently commercial,
The rowdy (the pubs being open till midnight),
And the childish - which is not that of the child
For whom the candle is a star, and the gilded angel
Spreading its wings at the summit of the tree
Is not only a decoration, but an angel.

The child wonders at the Christmas Tree:
Let him continue in the spirit of wonder
At the Feast as an event not accepted as a pretext;
So that the glittering rapture, the amazement
Of the first-remembered Christmas Tree,
So that the surprises, delight in new possessions
(Each one with its peculiar and exciting smell),
The expectation of the goose or turkey
And the expected awe on its appearance,

So that the reverence and the gaiety
May not be forgotten in later experience,
In the bored habituation, the fatigue, the tedium,
The awareness of death, the consciousness of failure,
Or in the piety of the convert
Which may be tainted with a self-conceit
Displeasing to God and disrespectful to children
(And here I remember also with gratitude
St.Lucy, her carol, and her crown of fire):

So that before the end, the eightieth Christmas
(By "eightieth" meaning whichever is last)
The accumulated memories of annual emotion
May be concentrated into a great joy
Which shall be also a great fear, as on the occasion
When fear came upon every soul:
Because the beginning shall remind us of the end
And the first coming of the second coming.

I love especially the second stanza of the poem, with its description of the wonder of a child at the Christmas tree and the final stanza, perhaps because I am old.

The illustration at the head of the post shows the "Queen's Christmas tree at Windsor Castle published in the Illustrated London News, 1848, and republished in Godey's Lady's Book, Philadelphia in December 1850." From Wikipedia.

THE LION TAMER

A man told the ringmaster that he was interested in joining the circus as a lion tamer. The ringmaster asked what experience he had, and the man said, "Quite a lot. My father was one of the most famous lion tamers in the world, and he taught me everything he knew."

"Really?" said the ringmaster. "Did he teach you how to make a lion jump through a flaming hoop?"

"Yes, he did," the man replied.

"And did he teach you how to have six lions form a pyramid?"

"Yes, he did," the man replied.

"And have you ever stuck your head in a lion's mouth?"

"Just once," the man replied.

The ringmaster asked, "Why only once?"

"I was looking for my father."


Cheers,

Paul (A.)

PRAY FOR THE PEOPLE OF BAGHDAD

A video and a message from Canon Andrew White, Vicar of St. George's Anglican Church in Baghdad:

My dear friends,

There are not words to describe the carnage, terrorism and sheer pain of Iraq yesterday. Not for four years have we seen this level of violence in Baghdad. Everybody has been affected. Even people not injured in this tragedy are filled with trauma and pain. So many people have been affected. Baghdad is hurting. People of all faiths and backgrounds are in tears. The bombs did not just affect one area but the whole of Baghdad.

This is clearly a result of political tension and distortion. To have the Prime Minister put out a warrant for the arrest of the Vice President is most serious and looks like a rise of the Shia Sunni divide. A week after the US troops left we are facing huge disaster.

Whilst the world is celebrating Christmas, Baghdad is hurting and burning. In no way were Christians targeted in these attacks. They appear to mainly be targeted at the Shia, but Sunnis were killed as well and everybody in the church is also hurting.

Once again the call we are called upon to stand with and to help those caught up in this disaster. Thank you for standing with us as we do so.

For me the pain is so difficult. I am torn. I desperately want to be there with the people I love, but at the same time I want to celebrate the joy of Christmas with my family in England.

The news of Christmas is still one of love and joy, because love came down at Christmas. It is only this fact that keeps us going in Baghdad. Despite the tragedy of the moment, our Lord is still here and His Spirit is still with us. Even if we lose everything, we still have our Lord Jesus who came to us at Christmas.

Blessings,

Andrew

PRAYER

O God, you have bound the inhabitants of Iraq together in a common life. Help all your people in Baghdad and throughout the country, in the midst of their struggles for justice and truth, to confront one another without hatred, bitterness, or violence and to work together with mutual forbearance and respect to bring peace to the city and to the the country. Amen.

Thanks to Andrew Gerns at The Lead.

ICONIC - NAVY HOMECOMING - LESBIAN COUPLE SHARE A KISS

Perhaps the still from the video below, which has already gone viral, will become the icon of the celebration of the end of 'Don't ask. Don't tell'. From the beginning, when I first heard of the Clinton compromise, I thought it was ridiculous. Hopes were high that Clinton would end the practice of discharging members of the military who had served their country well, if their LGTB sexual orientation became known...but not with the unworkable policy of DADT.




The photo of the lesbian kiss reminded me of the iconic scene below, of the sailor kissing the nurse, photographed by Albert Eisenstaedt in Times Square on V-J Day, marking the end of World War II.

CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND, STRUCK BY EARTHQUAKE

Photo / Geoff Sloan

From the New Zealand Herald:

Quake-weary residents in Christchurch's eastern suburbs were again flooded with silt from liquefaction just two days from Christmas.

Flooding covered streets and homes in suburbs already devastated by the September and February earthquakes, including Bexley, Avonside, Parklands and Wainoni.

Civil Defence said the situation in the city was similar to the magnitude 6 quake in June in terms of damage and liquefaction. St John treated about 60 people with earthquake-related injuries.

Christchurch Deputy Mayor Ngaire Button, speaking while mayor Bob Parker made his way back from a holiday in Taupo, said the timing was almost as bad as the damage.

"Our hearts go out to the people of Christchurch tonight. We're just devastated that this has happened at this time of the year, right before Christmas.

From Bishop Victoria Matthews at Anglican Taonga:

Bishop Victoria’s request for prayer

I feel a bit guilty asking for prayer yet again. Or maybe even greedy. So I ask you to bear with me as I explain our need.

In the early part of this afternoon, shoppers here in Christchurch were thronging the malls.

We know what happened at 1:58pm – and again and again during the afternoon.

Those malls, of course, were evacuated.

And tonight, as I drove through the city and especially through the suburbs, there was hardly a car or pedestrian in sight.

It was as though people were hiding. When the whole world begins to tilt and roll, they’re frightened to be caught again in a crowd.

So I ask your prayers for the people of greater Christchurch.

I ask your prayers for courage and good humour and incredible resilience.

I fear the rise of anger, too. It’s hard to get angry at an earthquake – so the tendency is to turn on others. And what’s doubly sad is that many already experience Christmas as a stressful time.

Oh, and one more thing.

For the most part, we will be worshipping outdoors this Christmas, 'where sheep may safely graze'.

The late night services will be ‘BYOT’ events – Bring Your Own Torch – because candles and earthquakes don’t go together, either.

Would you, in your mercy, pray for those who are frightened?

And pray that they will dare to venture out and that the Christmas services will be havens of praise and wonder at the birth of the new born King?

And that we may all return safely home again as well?

Thank you, and we pray for you who have been at our side every step of the way.

Thank you and God bless you this Christmas.

Prayer from elca.org.

Gracious God, you are our refuge and strength, a very present help in time of trouble.
In the wake of the earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand,
reveal your presence so that all may know your healing, hope, and love.
As one community on earth bound together by your grace,
inspire us to pray, serve, and help all those who suffer.

Lord in your mercy,
Hear our prayer.

H/T to Andrew Gerns at The Lead.

O EMMANUEL

Antiphon sung by the Dominican student brothers at Blackfriars in Oxford.

December 23

O Emmanuel, Rex et legifer noster, exspectatio gentium, et Salvator earum: veni ad salvandum nos Domine Deus noster.

O Emmanuel, our King and our Law-giver, Longing of the Gentiles, yea, and salvation thereof, come to save us, O Lord our God!

Isaiah 7:14

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel.

Text from Fish Eaters.