Christmastide - The Ordinary Extraordinary

Were there 9 ladies a-dancing around Jesus' crib on this date in 4 BC? Probably not, and if there were they would most likely have been little Bethlehem neighbor girls come to see the new baby. In a town so small it didn't even leave physical evidence that it existed at this time, babies were fairly rare.

The Christian Movement's calendar goes off to commemorate 2 important theologians on this date, and really does not come back to the Savior of the World until the last Day of Christmas, Epiphany. And, to speak anachronistically for a moment, Jesus at this point was probably quite happy the calendar had nothing scheduled today. Yesterday was a big, painful, and exhausting day: his circumcision. The newborn king was no doubt rather uncomfortable today.

It would have been easier to come up with blog subjects if I'd chosen the supposed spiritual meanings embedded in that famous old Yule ditty about Lords a-leaping and pear trees. But the pattern for the 12 Days of Christmas that we find in the Christian calendar (all flavors), the pattern of a few important events surrounded by days and days of utter ordinariness, is even more significant because it is so like our lives. The manifestation of the Messiah was happening in this way because God chose to become utterly human.

Here the Common English Bible's rendering of the traditional phrase "Son of Man" as "the Human One" comes into its own, I think, because it points up (and perhaps even overemphasizes) the human-ness of Jesus. With the signs and wonders that fill Jesus' story it can be, and in fact has proven to be, all too easy to think of him simply as a divine being. We forget that that is not what the Christian Movement teaches.

"'Who do people say the Human One is?'" He is "'the Christ, the Son of the living God,'" (Gospel of Matthew, chapter 16 verses 13 and 16, CEB).

After much struggle on exactly how to define such a unique thing, theologians finally realized that the data of Scripture demanded that he was not just God, not a man who became God, not a man whom God temporarily used then discarded, but the most mysterious alternative of all: Fully God and Fully human. The God of the universe living as a human in full, being and experiencing all that it is to be human while never ceasing to be God in every way. This is one of the things about Christianity that you can never reach the end of.

Interestingly, the 2 important theologians I mentioned earlier were pivotal in figuring this out. Maybe this day in the Christian calendar is about Christmastide after all.

Christmastide - Extended Family

Photo courtesy of Mindaugas Urbonas

Now we are at the 7th Day of Christmas and find that, after celebrating Jesus' early home life yesterday, this is another day with nothing planned. Are we getting bored yet with these famous 12 Days? Certainly it would be much more fun to rub our eyes at the extravagant gift of 7 swans a-swimming and all the rest (particularly the several sets of "5 golden rings" that are accumulating!). Getting stuff is so much more fun. Just look at how much we enjoyed it on Christmas Day!

But maybe that's the point. Other than the Magi's gifts there is no record Jesus and his family got any stuff or reveled in any festivities. If anything they were getting ready to circumcise him tomorrow -- an exceedingly important day in the life of a young Jewish family, but not quite the same as having an feast of french hen, goose, and pears.

If the Lord Messiah had chosen to be born in a royal palace instead of a dank cave (a choice he surely had) you may be sure he would have been welcomed with an extravaganza every bit as opulent and enthusiastic as that immortalized in "The 12 Days of Christmas." But he chose differently. And on this day the only extravagance is the love shown him by his little family of Mary and Joseph.

"Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?"

Interestingly then, when he had grown to be a popular rabbi with a knack for turning the most mundane situation into a profound lesson, he defined his followers in family terms:

He replied, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” Looking around at those seated around him in a circle, he said, “Look, here are my mother and my brothers. Whoever does God’s will is my brother, sister, and mother.”

(Gospel of Mark, chapter 3 verses 33 - 35, Common English Bible)

The commonplace love of his early family Jesus extended to all of us. In effect, we are the Holy Family today, and Jesus is the "first of many brothers and sisters," (Letter to the Romans, chapter 8 verse 29, CEB).

Christmastide - Family

Holy Family, by Bramantino

In most versions of the Christian calendar the 6th Day of Christmas doesn't have a special observance connected with Christmastide. In the Orthodox Church, for instance, today is the day of "Anysia the Virgin-martyr of Thessaloniki," killed by a soldier in AD 299. The Lutheran and Anglican Churches have nothing scheduled for today, although Anglicanism's daughter, the Episcopal Church, has declared this a time for remembering Frances Joseph-Gaudet, a prison reformer.

The Catholic calendar though has a very appropriate observance today: The Feast of the Holy Family. It pictures the God of the universe, so recently emerged from his mother's womb, doing the most unassuming of things -- living in a house with his family. As we discussed yesterday, Jesus' life was not all miracles and wonders; it was mostly homely, pedestrian events...

Christmastide - Downtime

On the 5th Day of Christmas there was downtime. In the version of the Christian calendar we're following in this series this is just known as "The Fifth Day of the Octave (i.e., 8 days) of Christmas."  There are no feasts today, no commemorations. If you happen to be a big fan of Thomas Becket this would be the day you remember him, though it has nothing to do with Christmas (except that he was slaughtered so soon after it)...

Christmastide - Innocents

According to the old carol, on the fourth day of Christmas your true love sends to you four calling birds. But in the old calendar observed by many in the Christian Movement this day brings with it something quite different. The fourth day of Christmastide is the "Day of the Holy Innocents" when we are brought up short by the fact that, in the midst of Mary and Joseph's joy over "the newborn king," other babies were being slaughtered in an effort to eliminate him...

Christmastide - Eternity

The third day of Christmas is the Feast of John the Apostle. As with the second day, John's feast isn't officially connected to Christmas proper, but it does fit in quite nicely. Because John, with his profound teachings clothed in simple words, is the New Testament writer who tells us most clearly that this was no ordinary child that was just born...

How The End Comes

At one point in my life I belonged to a church that was very focused on Christ's 2nd coming (almost to the exclusion of the first) and entranced with the idea of interpreting Bible prophecy. Back in the day we'd sit around for hours arguing who the Beast would be and how long we had left. My views have changed considerably but a lot of my friends are still oriented that way and we sometimes discuss eschatological events, online or elsewhere.

Today, in a Facebook group, this question posted: "What is the fulfillment of the prophesy below, especially verse 25?" referring to The Book of Daniel, chapter 7, verses 19 - 27  (In keeping with the CEB Blog Tour, I'm quoting from the Common English Bible)...

Alien Culture

When I was growing up we moved around a lot: A few years in Indiana, then a couple in New Jersey, followed by stints in Kansas, then Idaho, then Michigan... My brothers and I were always the new kids. And we yearned to settle somewhere and finally belong. As we all do -- everyone wants to fit in, to be part of the club.

There's something about the Christian movement that makes many modern-day Christians a bit uncomfortable: We really don't belong here. This isn't our place...

The Logical Thing That Didn't Happen

What If the logical thing had happened and the Christian movement was stamped out by the early AD 200's. After all, word on the street was that being a Christian was a good way to get killed. "I interrogated them to find out if they were Christians," one Roman political functionary wrote. "If they confessed, I repeated the question two more times, adding the threat of capital punishment. Then, if they persisted, I had them executed," (Pliny the Younger, Letters book 10, letter 96).

And, quite frankly, the better educated thought followers of Christ were rather dumb. "The poor wretches have convinced themselves that they are going to be immortal and live forever," Lucian, a satirist said. "If any charlatan or trickster... joins them he soon gains sudden wealth by taking advantage of these simple folk," (Lucian, The Passing of Peregrinus, section 13).

Jesus and the idealistic society he founded would fade into obscurity, known only from a few scattered references in Jewish and Roman history books mainly read by scholars.Two thousand years later "Christians" would be mentioned in passing, together with Mithraites, Druids, and Bacchae, during graduate level history classes...

Thanksgiving -- Israelite Style!

To thank the Lord for his many blessings many of us gather together with our families at this time of year. We bring our best food, lots of meat and baked goods made from scratch with the best ingredients. Then we offer a prayer of thanks, recounting what we are grateful for. After that we spend the day eating, talking, and laughing, enjoying each other's company -- and God's blessing. We don't have to do this, but it's a tradition and we always look forward to it.

No, I'm not bragging about the Thanksgiving Day my extended family had yesterday at my parent's home. This is a thanksgiving celebration the way that ancient Israelites did it, 3000+ years ago...

The Sacrament of the Bible

A sacrament is a material object or action that God has chosen, in his complete freedom, to use as a medium of his grace. The Christian movement has revolved around sacraments from its start. The Catholic and Orthodox traditions teach 7 sacraments -- baptism, confirmation (called "chrismation" in Orthodox churches), communion, holy orders, penance, anointing of the sick, and marriage -- while most Protestants only observe the two specifically set up by Jesus of Nazareth, baptism and communion. Down through the ages innumerable followers of Jesus have attested to the mystical power resident in these simple things.

But you may have another sacrament sitting on your bookshelf. The Bible has always worked sacramentally in the Community of Jesus...

CEB Blog Tour Begins: Get a Free Bible

Here begineth ye "Thank You-Come Again-I Promise" blog tour, designed not only to prompt 120+ bloggers to churn out mounds of in-depth theological thought but also to promote the new Common English Bible. I discussed this here and reviewed the CEB New Testament here, but there is one other thing I need to cover in this post: How you can get your very own totally free soft cover copy of the Common English Bible.

Every week the CEB publishers will send one Bible to a lucky Authentic Light reader that I name. Here's the procedure for getting yours:

On any article we post this week be the first to comment AND do not be a Blog Tour participant (we're ineligible) AND tell me you want a copy of the CEB. 

Simple as that. Sorry, a comment that says, "First comment!" won't do the trick. It needs to be a real comment.

Then, just send me your mailing address and email to pass along to the publishers. I recommend that you use the form on our Contact page to keep everyone from seeing your address. If you don't need a copy, consider winning one to give to a friend, donate to your church library, or hand to a homeless person (preferably along with some food and a warm jacket).

Also, if you "Like" the CEB's Facebook "Live the Bible" page and click the "Like to Unlock" button over to the left, you can download very nice Bible calligraphy posters for Isaiah 40:31, Romans 8:38 - 39, and Philippians 4:6 - 7.

Here are some other ways to connect with the Common English Bible:

                       Twitter: http://twitter.com/CommonEngBible

                        Facebook Group Page: http://facebook.com/groups/CommonEnglishBible           

                        Video: http://vimeo.com/CommonEnglishBible

Finally, for the sake of transparency, what do I get out of this? Am I secretly on the CEB's payroll?  Am I a Bible shill? No, all I get is my own free Bible and, one would hope, a bit more traffic here at Authentic Light. And the opportunity to help spread the word about a Bible version I've been interested in almost from the beginning and which deserves wide use.

A Prayer to Begin National Bible Week

(A prayer and two passages from Scripture to begin National Bible Week, November 20th - 27th)

Before Reading the Holy Scripture (from the Orthodox tradition)

Illumine our hearts, O Master Who lovest mankind, with the pure light of Thy divine knowledge. Open the eyes of our mind to the understanding of Thy gospel teachings. Implant also in us the fear of Thy blessed commandments, that trampling down all carnal desires, we may enter upon a spiritual manner of living, both thinking and doing such things as are well-pleasing unto Thee. For Thou art the illumination of our souls and bodies, O Christ our God, and unto Thee we ascribe glory, together with Thy Father, Who is from everlasting, and Thine all-holy, good, and life-creating Spirit, now and ever and unto ages of ages. Amen.


From the Old Testament

When the seventh month came and the people of Israel were settled in their towns, all the people gathered together in the area in front of the Water Gate. They asked Ezra the scribe to bring out the Instruction scroll from Moses, according to which the LORD had instructed Israel.

So on the first day of the seventh month, Ezra the priest brought the Instruction before the assembly. This assembly was made up of both men and women and anyone who could understand what they heard. Facing the area in front of the Water Gate, he read it aloud, from early morning until the middle of the day. He read it in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand, and everyone listened attentively to the Instruction scroll.

Book of Nehemiah chapter 8, verses 1 - 3, Common English Bible


From the New Testament


Since childhood you have known the holy scriptures that help you to be wise in a way that leads to salvation through faith that is in Christ Jesus. Every scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for showing mistakes, for correcting, and for training character, so that the person who belongs to God can be equipped to do everything that is good.

Second Letter to Timothy chapter 3, verses 15 - 17, Common English Bible

Planting Sycamore Trees

Photo courtesy of Tomorrow Never Knows

There's more than one revolution going on.  Just as they did with the more high-profile Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street movements, I sometimes feel that the Twitterverse and the Blogosphere help us keep the disparate parts of the Christian movement aware of each other too.

However that may be, the Society of Biblical Literature conference, happening in San Francisco right now, is being blogged and tweeted continuously. For a lot of people that could elicit a yawn but if you are seriously interested in what the Bible is and says, the SBL is where you find the movers and shakers. Were he suddenly catapulted into our era, St. Paul would probably be there making a presentation on his latest Epistle -- and blowing everybody else away, no doubt, with is incandescent mind. Through the Internet those of us unable to attend are still able to pick up nuggets of wisdom (and sometimes the opposite) that drop from the attendee's scholarly lips...

The Time Bomb Embedded in National Bible Week

1940 was a very scary year to live through. Hitler was ravaging Europe, Pacific nations were being conquored, and the Great Depression had by no means disappeared. Many Americans were determined to stay uninvolved and isolated but it was becoming increasingly apparent that they and the other democracies of the world were being surrounded. A latent fear was pervasive.

In the midst of this a group of professionals in New York felt it was important to turn people's minds to the hope offered by the Bible. So they formed the National Bible Association to simply encourage people to read this pivotal book, regardless of their religions affiliation or lack thereof...

New CEB Blog Tour

A couple of days ago Authentic Light was invited by the good people behind the Common English Bible to be part of their "Thank You-Come Again-I Promise" blog tour (November 20th - January 31st). And I happily agreed. The CEB was reviewed here some time ago and despite a few qualms I think it's a very good Bible with some punchy translations. In fact, I added the CEB to the shortlist of translations Authentic Light uses.

One of this site's main purposes is to help people not get comfortable with Christianity, to not be so used to it that we regard it as a nice, warm, cultural security blanket rather than the jar of nitroglycerin that it is. To that end, I am all for translations like the CEB that refuse to say things the way we've gotten familiar with. Even renderings I don't particularly like, such as "the Human One" in place of "Son of Man," have the virtue of pulling readers up short and making us think.

And, just by the by, Authentic Light readers can win a free softcover CEB each week that I post something using it. So I'm planning to use it in everything, just to make it easy. I've given away several copies during the 2 previous blog tours I've participated in. Quite aside from the fact that they got a free Bible, people have really been impressed when they read it. The comment that comes up most is, "Does the Bible really say that?" And because the CEB is fairly close in its scholarship I can almost always say, "Yes, yes it does."

Even "God's DNA"!