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‘Christ Himself was a Christmas present.’
G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936)
Towards the end of the first week in Advent, I bought my first Christmas present. Having been bombarded by email ads from the Hammacher Schlemmer holiday gift guide--- I finally succumbed--- but happily so, as I think I got a present that will be liked by the family member for whom it is intended.
G.K. Chesterton, who wrote the detective stories about Father Brown that forms the basis of the popular ‘Father Brown’ PBS series, loved Christmas. He wrote numerous essays and beautiful poems on the season. He also wrote a very fine essay on what he terms ‘The Theology of Christmas Presents.’
Chesterton begins the essay by negation, telling us precisely what does not count as ‘a Christmas present’. He tells us he saw a statement by Mary Baker Eddy in which she said that:
...she did not give presents in a gross, sensuous, terrestrial sense, but sat and thought about Truth and Purity till all her friends were much better for it now.
Chesterton amusingly retorts that there might be ‘an economic charm’ to Mrs Eddy’s approach to gift giving but it was not Christian. That, because, in effect, Christianity is an ‘embodied’ religion and actual gift giving is an extension of that:
The idea of embodying goodwill--- that is, of putting it into a body--- is the huge and primal idea of the Incarnation. A gift of God that can be seen and touched is the whole point of the epigram of the creed. Christ Himself was a Christmas present.
Furthermore, Chesterton contends, the note of material Christmas presents is struck even before Christ is born in the first movement of the sages and the star:
The Three Kings came to Bethlehem bringing gold and frankincense and myrrh. If they had only brought Truth and Purity and Love, there would have been no Christian art and no Christian civilization.
Chesterton concludes by arguing that another element that makes Christmas presents so Christian is what he calls their ‘particularism’. Theology might present the Christ child as an architype of all children, or Mary as the architype of motherhood but:
The truth is that it is only because the Nativity is a narrative of one lonely and literal mother and child that it is universal at all. If Bethlehem were not particular it would not be popular...Christmas, down to its most homely and even comic observances of stockings and boxes, is penetrated with this personal idea of a secret between God and man—a divine cap that fits the particular human head...
Christmas is something better than a thing for all; it is a thing for everybody.
Chesterton no doubt loved Christmas so much because of his great love for children. But Chesterton never subscribed to the notion that Christmas is mainly for children; he claimed that he enjoyed Christmas more as an adult than he had as a child. This, because he believed: “The fun of Christmas is founded on the seriousness of Christmas.” The great message of Christmas is the Incarnation.
The Incarnation lightens our hearts with joy and gladness that God has drawn near; the Incarnation also shines a light on our sorrows and our battle with evil. As someone has said, for Chesterton “Christmas is the stable and the shepherds; but it is also the massacre of the innocents.”
Writing in the 1930s with the rise of National Socialism and Hitler, Chesterton said:
“To make vivid the horrors of destruction and mere disciplined murder, we must see them more simply as attacks on the hearth and the human family; and feel about Hitler as men felt about Herod.”
Much to think about here as we enter more deeply into the season of Advent and await Christmas ‘in the deep midwinter’ with hearts and minds anxious about the continuing sorrows of Ukraine and the people of Israel and of Gaza. There is much to sorrow over and much to fear; and our longing for the light and guidance of Christ all the more acute.
Wishing you every good blessing this Advent and in anticipation of Christmas.
Yours sincerely,
Douglas
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To thee, O Christ, O Word of the Father, we offer up our lowly praises and unfeigned hearty thanks: Who for love of our fallen race didst most wonderfully and humbly choose to be made man, as never to be unmade more; and to take our nature, as never more to lay it off; so that we might be born again by thy Spirit and restored in the image of God; to whom, one blessed Trinity, be ascribed all honour, might, majesty, and dominion, now and forever. Amen.
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From the House of Christmas | |
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A Child in a foul stable,
Where the beasts feed and foam,
Only where He was homeless
Are you and I at home;
We have hands that fashion and heads that know,
But our hearts we lost – how long ago!
In a place no chart nor ship can show
Under the sky’s dome.
This world is wild as an old wives’ tale,
And strange the plain things are,
The earth is enough and the air is enough
For our wonder and our war;
But our rest is as far as the fire-drake swings
And our peace is put in impossible things
Where clashed and thundered unthinkable wings
Round an incredible star.
To an open house in the evening
Home shall men come,
To an older place than Eden
And a taller town than Rome.
To the end of the way of the wandering star,
To the things that cannot be and that are,
To the place where God was homeless
And all men are at home.
G.K. Chesterton
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The Year of the Bible and the St. John’s Bible at
St. John’s Church, Tallahassee
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Several years ago, Barry and Lucinda Mosher, members of St Mary’s Church, Green Cove Springs, invited me to dinner in their home to meet a former pupil of Lucinda’s who was involved in a wonderful enterprise called the St John’s Bible project.
I Googled the project and learned that the St John’s Bible is the first completely hand-written and illuminated Bible to be commissioned since the invention of the printing press. The project was headed by a world-renowned calligrapher Donald Jackson and commissioned by the Benedictine monks of St John’s University. This challenging enterprise was finished in 2011 at a cost of over $8 million.
The St John’s Bible is divided into seven volumes and is two feet tall by three feet wide when open. The book is written on vellum by quill and contains 160 illuminations across seven volumes.
I was very excited by an announcement made by Father Lonnie Lacey at our annual Diocesan Convention last November 11, 2023. Father Lacey told us that St John’s Church, Tallahassee, where he is the rector, has on loan from the Fall of 2023 until the Fall of 2024 the Gospel and Acts volume of The St John’s Bible. This beautiful volume of the Bible has been fully adopted and embraced into the heart of the church’s mission, worship, and educational programs and it is the cornerstone of ‘The Year of the Bible’ at the church.
Kate Kyle and Laurye Messer, two parishioners at St John’s, Tallahassee, have kindly agreed to tell us more about this special Bible and its use at their church.
AN INTERVIEW WITH
KATE KILE AND LAURYE MESSER
1. Kate and Laurye, tell us a little about yourselves and how you are involved in St John’s, and more specifically, how you got involved in “The Year of the Bible” project.
KK: I am the Director of Finance and Faith Formation here at St. John’s. The Saint John’s Bible popped onto my radar in the Fall of 2019 when I traveled to Omaha NE for a retreat @ St Benedict’s Center in Schuyler NE. I had a few spare hours in the city, so I visited the Joslyn Art Museum where the featured exhibit just so happened to be the Saint John’s Bible and I was immediately swept away! Fast forward to the EPN (Episcopal Parish Network) Conference a few months later where I met Brad Neary and learned about the Heritage Edition of the Saint John’s Bible.
A seed was planted to someday bring to St. John’s in Tallahassee, but it took a few more years, until our current Rector, Fr. Lonnie Lacy joined me at EPN in early 2023. He excitedly stopped me in the exhibit hall “do you know about this incredible Bible???” I smiled and nodded, excited to have a champion on the quest to bring this masterpiece to our parish.
LM: I have had several volunteer positions at the church. My last role was Vice-Chair of the St. John’s Rector Search Committee. I was introduced to the Saint John’s Bible by Kate Kile when she took a fellow parishioner and myself to lunch.
She asked us to be on the committee that would travel to St. John’s University to learn about the Bible and to be involved in promoting and sharing it with the church and wider community for the next year. Kate’s pretty persuasive, but before I committed, I went home and did some research. Once I read the story behind the creation of this magnificent Bible and saw its beauty, I was onboard.
2. How has the volume of The St John’s Bible on loan to your church been used in worship and other events in the church?
KK: We read the Gospel from the Saint John’s Bible each Sunday and have it on display in our welcoming foyer. We’ve assembled an amazing team of volunteer docents to help us share with our parish and larger community.
Folks can request time with the Saint John’s Bible here or elsewhere and the Bible has visited parishioner Sunday School classes, Bible Studies, FL FCA (Fellowship Christian Athletes), sister Episcopal Parishes here in Tallahassee, and even a Blessing of the Animals celebration in a city park! (link to photos/story on our website here: https://www.saint-john.org/bibletravels-sept2023/).
LM: As Kate has said, we’ve shared the Saint John’s Bible both within our church and the wider community. My personal favorite experience was taking the Bible to our sister church, St. Michael and All Angels. My husband and I brought the Bible there on a rainy Sunday after Thanksgiving.
The people at St. Michaels and All Angels made us feel so welcome. After the worship service, we displayed the Bible in their fellowship hall. We stayed there for 2 hours while members of the congregation pored over the Bible. They took out their cellphones and made videos of several illuminations. The cell phone camera made the gold in the illuminations look almost like it was floating on the page. It was such a blessing to see their church members enjoy the Bible.
3. The volume of the Gospels and Acts is two feet tall and three feet wide when it is open. How do you hold or stand this volume up for its use in worship services?
KK: We are blessed to have a congregation filled with generous and talented people! One of our parishioners built a beautiful custom stand to hold the Bible open during worship. St. Michael’s parish in Colorado Springs generously shared a custom-built museum-style display case for the Saint John’s Bible which is on prominent display in our foyer so all visitors and customers to our lunch Cafe can view it daily!
LM: When the Gospel is brought down to the people, it is a powerful sight. I love to hear the Gospel being read from this huge, red volume, and I also find it fascinating to watch it being read from the beautiful script Donald Jackson created. It feels ancient and it’s a wonderful reminder that God is and has always been among us.
To continue reading the interview, please click here.
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Christmas Book List 2023
For Giving or Receiving
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Jem Bloomfield. Paths in the Snow: A Literary Journey through The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Hardcover, December 1, 2023.
If you think you know everything about Narnia —this book will make you think again.
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Pope Francis. I Am Asking in the Name of God: Ten Prayers for a Future of Hope, Hardcover, October 3, 2023.
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Don McCullin. Journeys Across Roman Asia Minor, Hardcover, September 28, 2023.
I want this beautiful book of photographs for Christmas.
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Rebecca Renner. Gator Country: Deception, Danger, and Alligators in the Everglades, Hardcover. November 14, 2023.
"Renner gives the remarkable nature of South Florida, as well as the often-hardscrabble folk whose families have lived there for generations, the love and respect they deserve... Every species, and every person who fights for its continued existence, deserves a book like this ― a book that explores the complexity of the nexus between humans and animals and the exploitation of the wild, and considers the ambiguities of our fractured relationship to nature, morality and history." ― The New York Times
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Peter Shambrook. Policy of Deceit: Britain and Palestine, 1914-1939, Hardcover, September 12, 2023.
The most reviewed book of the latter half of the year in reference to the Israeli-Palestine conflict. Peter Shambrook is the historical consultant to the Balfour Project, which works to advance equal rights for all in Palestine/Israel.
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Avi Shlaim. Three Worlds: Memoirs of an Arab-Jew, Paperback, February 27, 2024.
Shlaim is an Arab Jew born in Iraq and brought up in Israel and a tireless crusader for peace among Arabs and Jews in the Middle East.
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Susan Sink. The Art of The Saint John's Bible: The Complete Reader's Guide Paperback – Illustrated, September 20, 2013.
If you are enticed to learn more about this beautiful Bible after reading the interview with Kate Kyle and Laurye Messer in this Newsletter about the volume loaned to St John’s Church, Tallahassee, this might be of interest to you.
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Emma Smith. Portable Magic: A History of Books and their Readers, Paperback, May 1, 2023.
“Stephen King once said that books are “a uniquely portable magic.” Here, Emma Smith takes readers on a literary adventure that spans centuries and circles the globe to uncover the reasons behind our obsession with this captivating object.”--- Amazon reviewer
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Ryan Whitaker Smith. Winter Fire: Christmas with G.K. Chesterton, Hardcover, August 1, 2023.
I particularly like G.K. Chesterton and Marie Smith (editor) The Spirit of Christmas: Stories, Poems and Essays, October 1, 1984 but you would have to find a used copy.
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JUST A FEW OF THE BEST EXHIBITION BOOKS 2023 | |
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Edina Adam and Julian Brooks. William Blake: Visionary, Hardcover, August 4, 2020.
This volume is published to accompany the Blake exhibition at the J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center, October 17, 2023-January 14, 2024.
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Ben van Beneden and Amy Orrock. Rubens & Women, Paperback, November 29, 2023.
The first book (and exhibition) ever to present a focused study on Rubens’ depictions of women. The exhibition at Dulwich Picture Gallery will run from October 2023 to January 2024.
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Gabriele Finaldi. Saint Francis of Assisi, Hardcover, June 20, 2023.
The National Gallery, London, 6 May - 30 July 2023.
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St. Mark’s Chorister, Edric Baty Chosen for
St. Thomas Choir School
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Edric Baty, age 11 and from a large and very musical family, has been a dedicated, enthusiastic, and very talented chorister at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Jacksonville, for over a year. He has been admitted to the world-renowned St. Thomas Choir School which supports the historic, Anglican-style men and boys choir at St. Thomas Church, 5th Avenue, in NYC. This is a remarkable honor and opportunity for Edric to get a wonderful education while singing with a world-class choir, which leads worship at St. Thomas throughout the school year in addition to performing concerts, touring, and recording CDs.
December 10 was his last Sunday at St. Mark’s, as he begins at St. Thomas in January, so we thank him for sharing his talent with us and pray all God’s blessings on him and this exciting opportunity.
By James Holyer, Director of Music and Liturgy, St Mark’s, Jacksonville.
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Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel
Every year during Advent the old hymn “Oh come, Oh Come Emmanuel” gets stuck in my head. Now this is not an unpleasant experience, but rather it reminds me (often) of the desire we all have for the coming of Jesus.
The first stanza is as follows:
O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, O come, Emmanuel, is one of the best loved and oldest of Advent hymns. The hymn has a mystical and haunting feel that is perfect for the season. Its text connects the Old Testament prophesy of Isaiah to the Messiah as a descendant of King David, with the incarnation of the Christ child.
But, did you know that O Come, O Come, Emmanuel didn’t begin as a hymn at all? And did you know that the tune that we normally associate with it, comes from another hymn? Let’s look at the fascinating history behind this beautiful hymn.
As with many older hymns the words and the music (tune) come from two different parts. The English words that we sing are a translation from a Latin text “Veni, veni Emmanuel.” This Latin text did not start out as a congregational hymn. It originated as a series of short, chanted passages that were added onto the Magnificat, which was sung (by monks) as part of the liturgy of the Vespers service that date back to the early 9th Century (early 800s).
To continue reading, please click here.
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The Art of the Funeral Workshop:
St. John's Cathedral, Jacksonville
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Saturday, March 2, 2024
10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Taliaferro Hall, St John’s Cathedral, Jacksonville
Registration: $25 (includes lunch)
A workshop for clergy and laity jointly sponsored by the Bishop’s Institute for Ministry and Leadership and St John’s Episcopal Cathedral.
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Kate Moorehead Carroll, Dean of the Cathedral, on the scope of the workshop:
"Funerals are one of the greatest opportunities that we have to show the world who we are as church. So many people come to funerals who might never otherwise enter our doors. But how can we plan funerals well? How do we balance gentle pastoring with liturgical intelligence? How can we craft a service that speaks of the life of a person while remaining faithful to our ancient liturgical practices? And how can we translate our liturgy to those who have never experienced it?
Join us for a workshop on Saturday, March 2 --- as we explore the art and wisdom that is needed to plan and execute a beautiful funeral in this post-modern age. We will cover everything from how to produce a funeral planning booklet, to encouraging legacy giving, to preaching a funeral, to managing eulogies, to how to livestream a burial using only an iPhone. Join us and let us share our wisdom and insights."
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Starting January 20, 2024, the Bishop’s Institute will offer a Foundations Course to lay persons in the Episcopal Diocese of Florida to enable and equip them to answer their call to Christian ministry first received at our Baptism.
This ten-month course will be of benefit to those who are currently engaged in lay ministry and leadership in their church or mission and also to those seeking to discern a call to new opportunities for ministry.
The course will meet one Saturday a month from 9 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. at St. Mark's Episcopal Church, Jacksonville. Registration includes access to class materials, lunch during class sessions, and two books.
To learn more about the course and to register, please click here. There are also limited scholarships available. Please direct any questions to Douglas Dupree, Rector of the Bishop’s Institute: at ddupree@diocesefl.org.
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