SUNDAY AFTER NEW YEAR’S
Readings* & Summary
*The readings are taken from the Feast of the Holy Name, or New Year’s Day, January 1.
The Epistle: Galatians 3:23-29
Before faith came, we were subject to the discipline of the law. But now that faith has come, we are all now children of God, and have become one in Christ.
The Gospel—Luke 2:15-21
Eight days after angels heralded Jesus’ birth to shepherds who visited the newborn child, Jesus is circumcised, according to the Torah, and given his name.
Reflection
Most people are probably not aware that the Nativity scene commonly displayed in churches and other areas at Christmastime is actually a mishmash of different portions of the New Testament. The shepherds are only in the Gospel of Luke, the Wise Men are only in Matthew, and Scripture isn’t clear if all of these people came to visit the newborn King on the same day. But two other figures sometimes appear, an ox and a donkey, sometimes portrayed facing the baby Jesus, with heads bowed in reverence. In a way, it makes sense. Mary and Joseph are, after all, in a stable, likely surrounded by farm animals. But as with all iconography, there’s usually a deeper meaning to the images selected.
It turns out that the ox and the donkey are in reference to a verse from the Book of Isaiah: “The ox knows his owner, and the donkey his master’s crib; but Israel doesn’t know, my people don’t consider.” Isaiah was originally talking about how obvious Israel’s rebelliousness had become. Even animals know who their human owner is! And today we might add, especially with the magic of Facebook pictures, that even pets know their owner’s babies! But Israel and, by extension, the human race don’t know, and often don’t even care about the Higher Power that made them.
What do we celebrate on Christmas? The easy answer is the birth of Jesus. But for starters, Jesus probably wasn’t really born on December 25th. And even if he had been, what do we get celebrating a 2,000-year-old birth, in a world so unlike what he and his family would’ve known? A clue comes from the appointed readings for today. “Before faith came… but now that faith has come,” writes Paul to the Galatians. Like Isaiah, Paul was writing in a different circumstance, to a group of continental Celts who had come to faith in Jesus, but struggled with Torah observance. The early Church, however, found in this passage a fitting description of what Christmas really is—the anniversary of the coming of faith into the world.
To us who can’t go to Bethlehem and adore the newborn King, Christ is reborn in our hearts, year after year, day after day, as the faith that has come to the world. And we are called to receive that faith like the ox and donkey of the Nativity scene, like our beloved pets or companion animals. By instinct, they know and follow us who care for them, even if we know that they don’t understand their actions as we would. Faith has come to teach us that we are children of God. We belong to the Universe, to the eternal world of matter and energy—body and soul. We are to embrace faith in our lives, knowing that there is a plan laid out for us—a good and loving plan—even if we can’t understand what it is, what we are to do with it, or where it will take us.
Questions
These questions are intended for all—people of faith, of a different tradition, or even no religious background.
“Faith” in the New Testament translates a Greek word that is more akin to “trust” than “belief.”
What do you put your trust in?
What comes naturally, instinctually to you?
What inspires you to keep going?
What ideals and even “beliefs” do you have, that are non-negotiable?
If you could personify whatever you trust in, what would you say to it?
Prayer of the Day
Eternal Father,
you gave to your incarnate Son
the holy name of Jesus
to be the sign of our salvation.
Plant in every heart, we pray,
the love of him who is the Savior of the world,
our Lord Jesus Christ,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, in glory everlasting.
Amen.
—Collect for “The Holy Name,” from the Book of Common Prayer, 1979.
Almighty God,
you made your blessed Son to be circumcised,
and obedient to your law for humankind.
Grant us the true circumcision of the Spirit,
so that, having put to death
all worldly desires in our hearts and bodies,
we may in all things obey your blessed will;
through the same Jesus Christ, your Son our Lord.
Amen.
—Collect for “The Circumcision of Christ,” from the Book of Common Prayer, 1928, adapted
Hymn: “Good Christian friends, rejoice” In dulci jubilo
Worship song: “There is power” Lincoln Brewster
