December 28 Remembering the Infants of Bethlehem

Like St. Stephen’s Day, this is a startling somber remembrance in the midst of the festive twelve days of Christmas. Psalm 124 Jeremiah 31:15-17 Revelation 21:1-7 Matthew 2:13-18 Psalm 124 is an interesting psalm to read on a day when we remember Jesus and his family fleeing to Egypt to escape King Herod’s wrath. I …

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December 27 Remembering the Apostle John

Psalm 92 (links to scriptures here) Exodus 33:18-23 I John 1:1-9 John 21:19-24 Notes Psalm 92:  As the year draws to a close, we are all conscious that we are getting older. The end of Psalm 92 reminds us that God calls us to flourish spiritually in all seasons of our lives. Exodus 33:  God …

December 26 St. Stephen’s Day

I remember learning the carol “Good King Wenceslas” when I was a kid, and finding out that St. Stephen’s Day, mentioned in the song, is December 26. It wasn’t until recently that I realized what this means: after Christmas—the very next day!—the church has traditionally remembered the first Christian martyr. What a somber thing to …

Christmas Day Daytime

Why in the world are there three readings for Christmas Day? To give you options. To give you something to come back and read in the middle of January when you are wondering where the holiday season vanished to so quickly. And not to give you stress. So if your guests or your pets or …

Christmas Day Dawn

There are three sets of traditional readings for Christmas. I couldn't pick just one! So today you have options. Choose the one that fits your celebration. There’s a midnight reading if you need a few moments of peace after a late night wrapping session. There’s a reading for dawn, in case your cat wakes you …

Christmas Day Midnight

Today you have options. Choose the one that fits your celebration. There’s a midnight reading if you need a few moments of peace after a late night wrapping session. There’s a reading for dawn, in case your cat wakes you up earlier than you expected. And there’s a reading for the middle of the day—if …

Christmas Eve

This is the week to really practice surrender. The idea is to not read all the readings. They are here for you if and when you need them. This is one of the things I love about following the traditional Advent schedule. It teaches us to surrender–to let things go. It reminds us that we …