The Eleventh Day of Christmas

 Eleventh Day of Christmas: Eve of the Feast of St. Simeon Stylites; St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

The Western Church celebrates the life and ministry of Simeon Stylites (390?-459) tomorrow, who stayed on top of a pillar for 37 years, praying, preaching, and practicing extreme asceticism in what is now Syria. This is a pretty appropriate feast to celebrate on the day preceding topsy-turvy Twelfth Night, so I thought I’d say a few words about it here.

The easiest response to the story is skepticism—not that Simeon stayed atop a pillar for all that time (unlike Thoreau at Walden, he had plenty of witnesses), but that such an activity has anything to do with real holiness.  It’s all a bit vulgar, and we prefer the well-mannered saint who preaches the gospel quietly, through kindness to others, without condemning, and without anger.  If Simeon was really that holy, we might think, he would be a tad more like St. Francis of Assisi, or maybe George MacDonald.  You don’t just go and sit on the top of a pillar out in the desert by yourself out of pure motives, do you?  Can’t we just dismiss this brand of sanctity the way we dismiss Father Ferapont in The Brothers Karamazov or those billboards about how Saturday is the true Lord’s Day?

The problem is that skepticism rarely does much to help our souls, unless it’s in the service of truth.  It’s possible, of course, that Simeon was crazy or a hypocrite (I doubt it myself—you don’t just commit to something like staying on the top of a pillar for 36 years without presence of mind and some level of discipline).  He was probably, in the very least, off-putting.  But even if he was a crazy old coot or a showoff, believing that doesn’t really challenge me to live my life any differently or help me to grow.  Skepticism is useful when it allows us to see truth behind misperception so that we may align ourselves with that truth—but it’s not really useful as an automatic response, a philosophy, or a defense mechanism.  Beware of smirks.

Such an attitude to over-the-top holiness disregards Jesus’ commendation of John the Baptist, as well.  The prophet who stayed out in the desert baptizing people and eating locusts and honey (shouting “Repent!” all the time) had a very different personality and ministry from Jesus—but his way of doing things was actually quite necessary.  There is a passage in Matthew 11 where Jesus contrasts his ministry to John’s.  Not once does Jesus claim that his own seemingly less severe method of ministry is superior to that of the Baptizer: “John came neither eating nor drinking and you say, ‘He has a demon,’; The son of man came both eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Here is a drunkard and a glutton, who hangs out with tax collectors and sinners.'”  People tend to get annoyed with the truth because it’s uncomfortable, and they reach for whatever excuses they can find to discredit those who preach it.  Of course, John’s or Simeon’s “feats of saintly strength” are not the point here—what they do, instead, is “prepare the way” for Christ by getting people’s attention so that God’s love and grace can be administered to repentant sinners through the good news of God’s Kingdom.

 

Skepticism is useful when it allows us to see truth behind misperception so that we may align ourselves with that truth–but it’s not really useful as an automatic response, a philosophy, or a defense mechanism.  Beware of smirks.

We’re drawing near, now, in the calendar to the end of Christmas and the beginning of Epiphany.  The one season celebrates the coming to earth of Christ; the other celebrates how he was revealed as Lamb of God and King, both to the foreign Magi, and to John the Baptist’s followers.  The strangeness of the signs themselves–of John, the “burning and shining lamp,” or of the Star—somehow prepares the way for us to see God in a new way.  But we cannot dull ourselves with cynicism; instead, we must desire, and practice seeing, the grace of God at work in the strangest things.  Begin to ask God to manifest his grace to you through the lives of others—even those lives you’re tempted to dismiss; even the supposed hypocrites and weirdos.  Showing them grace, you might be surprised at the way that same grace spills over to allow you to recognize Christ; at the revelation of God that grips your own heart and makes it free.

January 4

Activities

      • Pray in a tree for an hour in memory of St. Simeon Stylites!
      • Read a book in memory of Elizabeth Ann Seton.
      • Take a walk in a cemetery and ponder mortality
      • Look back over some of the previous days’ suggested activities that you wanted to do–and do them now!
      • ​Use social media with the express intent to bless someone else (rather than to “consume” or be entertained).  
      • Three words: Feats of Strength

 

  • Listen to some old-timey Christmas/Twelfth Night carols. Here’s a playlist.

  • Read about the current persecution of Christians occurring in Syria and find a way to help.  Pray for all the people of Syria.

  • Invite people to a Twelfth Night party tomorrow!
presents!

Gift Giving

  • If you have any left, give one of the gifts you did not give on the first day of Christmas.
  • Give a small donation to a Christian/Catholic school you support in memory of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.
  • Think about something that makes someone in your life eccentric or extraordinary and give a gift that reflects this aspect of them.
  • NO CASH OPTION: Write down eleven of your favorite things about someone and give them the list.

Literature

Prayer

For Vocation in Daily Work

Almighty God our heavenly Father, you declare your glory and show forth your handiwork in the heavens and in the earth: Deliver us in our various occupations from the service of self alone, that we may do the work you give us to do in truth and beauty and for the common good; for the sake of him who came among us as one who serves, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen. 

​(From the Book of Common Prayer)

Daily Scripture

 

Use a lectionary from your own tradition:

USCCB
ACNA

OCA

Trinity Mission Audio​

Alternatively, use one or more of the following readings:

Sing With joy

Christmas Carols

While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night

1. While shepherds watched their flocks by night,
     All seated on the ground, 
The Angel of the Lord came down, 

     And glory shone around :

2. ” Fear not,” said he, for mighty dread 
     Had seized their troubled mind ; 
” Glad tidings of great joy 

     I bring To you and all mankind.

3. ” To you in David’s town this day
     Is born, of David’s line, 
A Saviour, who is Christ the Lord, 

     And this shall be the sign :

4. ” The heavenly babe you there shall find
     To human view displayed, 
All meanly wrapped in swathing bands, 

     And in a manger laid.”

5. Thus spake the seraph, and forth with
     Appeared a shining throng 
Of angels, praising God, and thus 

     Addressed their joyful song:

6. ” All glory be to God on high,
     And to the earth be peace : 
Good-will henceforth from Heaven to men 

     Begin, and never cease.”

 

Go, Tell it on the Mountain

1. While shepherds kept their watching
O’er silent flocks by night,
Behold throughout the heavens
There shone a holy light

Chorus:
Go, tell it on the mountain
Over the hills and everywhere
Go, tell it on the mountain
That Jesus Christ is born.

2. The shepherds feared and trembled
When lo! above the earth
Rang out the angel chorus
That hailed our Saviour’s birth; Chorus:

3. Down in a lowly manger
The humble Christ was born;
And God sent out salvation
That blessed Christmas morn. Chorus:

4. When I was a seeker
I sought both night and day
I sought the Lord to help me
And He showed me the way. Chorus:

5. He made me a watchman
Upon the city wall
And If I am a Christian
I am the least of all. Chorus:

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