THREE MASSES AND A BABY ...

Those responsible for the Liturgies of Christmas Day will recall these two aspects of the celebration – the different Masses celebrated throughout Christmas Day and the place of the Crib.

Dating back to at least the 4^th century, three Masses are offered:

              Midnight – the Mass of the Angels (or Angel’s Mass)

              Dawn – the Mass of the Shepherds

              Day – the Mass of the Word(or King’s Mass)

‘Common Worship’ provides three sets of Readings for the Day but gives no instruction as to how they are used.  However, the sequence of the Readings shows how they fit into the theme of the Masses:

Midnight:        Isaiah 9: 2-7

                             Ps. 96: 1-2, 2-3, 11-12, 13

R. Today is born our Saviour, Christ the Lord.

                             Titus 2: 11-14

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
I proclaim to you good news of great joy:
today a Saviour is born for us,
Christ the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

                             Luke 2: 1-14

Dawn:                Isaiah 62: 6-12

                            Ps.97: 1, 6, 11-12

R. A light will shine on us this day: the Lord is born for us.

                             Titus 3: 4-7

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Glory to God in the highest heaven,
 and on earth peace among those whom he favours.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

                             Luke 2: 8-20

Day:                    Isaiah 52: 7-10

                             Ps. 98: 1, 2-3, 3-4, 5-6

R. All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.

                             Hebrews 1: 1-4

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
A holy day has dawned upon us.
Come, you nations, and adore the Lord.
For today a great light has come upon the earth.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

                             John 1: 1-14

Then there’s the matter of what to do with the Baby …

It was St Francis of Assisi who ‘invented’ the first Christmas Crib at Greccio in c.1223.  Thinking people didn’t realise the enormity of God entering human flesh, he invited the villagers of Greccio to Mass in the middle of the night and, beneath the altar, placed a crib containing the image of a baby (the bambino).  As the priest uttered the words of Institution (‘This is my body … my blood … ‘) over the wafers and chalice on the altar, so the bambino was seen to cry and, from that time onwards, it became the custom to place a bambino on a small cushion on the altar, in place of the small crucifix lying before the gaze of the priest, at Midnight Mass.  After Mass, it is processed to the Crib where prayers are offered – and, for this one day, all genuflect to the image as they pass.

The Crib was never meant ‘for the children’ but adults, and whilst many will now have children’s Crib Services, the Blessing needs to take place at Mass.  Like others, the Crib Service at my church was immensely popular but I would always tell the children that because Christ was born during the night we would be blessing the Crib at midnight, and many came back with their parents on that one, most holy, night.

Finally, the Kings will have begun their journey and, wherever possible, it’s a good custom to show the three moving along window ledges (for example) on the days between Christmas and Epiphany.

SOME NOTES FOR CHRISTMAS IN CHURCH

ADVENT WREATHS
Given the name of these wreathes they should be removed after Advent, i.e. before Midnight Mass (or the first Mass of Christmas).  The white candle is a recent addition – if you have one you might consider lighting it at a Crib Service at which the Crib isn’t, by tradition, blessed (see below). 

CRIBS
I know how popular Crib Services can be but the Crib itself should not be blessed on that occasion, nor the Bambino put in place – both events occur at Midnight Mass.   The first Crib was created by St. Francis of Assisi; it greeted villagers from Greccio when, at Francis’ invitation, they came to Mass in the middle of the night and discovered an ox and ass, sheep etc… and a crib beneath the altar..

In our own day the Bambino should be placed under a veil on a cushion on the altar and the veil removed at the Consecration.  It occupies the place where the small crucifix normally lies until it is processed to the Crib at the end of Mass.  The priest carries it using, if available, a humeral veil as would be done for a procession of the Blessed Sacrament where the priest holds the monstrance using the veil.  Once the Bambino has been placed in the Crib it is traditional, when passing on Christmas Day, to genuflect; it is also traditional to offer Devotions at the Crib during the Season.  

The Wise Men do not occupy the Crib until Epiphany (when the Shepherds are removed) and it’s a custom that, beforehand’ they are placed at the ‘back’ of the church and ‘journey’ down the church (window ledge to window ledge – if you have them) through until Epiphany.

As to when to remove the Crib one needs to consider if it’s appropriate to have it in place when celebrating the Feast of the Baptism (when Jesus must have been about 30) and into Ordinary Time until the Feast if the Presentation of Christ in the Temple.  

GENUFLECTION
Apart from genuflecting to the Bambino it is correct, on the Feast of the Incarnation, to do so at the 'et incarnatus est' during the Creed.

READINGS
In visiting different churches I've noticed that the Readings can get muddled. The correct sequence is:

Midnight: Mass of the Angels (Set I : Luke 2.1-14) - and it's 'of Christmas' not 'Christmas Eve'!;

Dawn: Mass of the Shepherds (Set II : Luke 2: 15-20),

Day: Mass of the Word (John 1.1-5, 914).

I'm sure God can cope with variations, but there are good reasons why this sequence was developed by the Church.

CHRIST THE IMAGE OF THE INVISIBLE GOD - some thoughts on the Incarnation

I wonder if you have an image of God? Many people do, even if it’s one they can’t believe in – that old man with a long white beard, the heavenly schoolmaster, the dictator who rules the world. Maybe a doting father – or even a loving mother. Or perhaps a painting you saw has left an impression on you – a painting of an ancient figure elevated above Jesus with a white dove between them. With such a plethora of images, some highly questionable, no wonder all three great monotheistic faiths, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, forbid the depiction of God. “But”, you might say, “what about all the images of Christ in churches?” Well, in a sense, they’re not images of God; they represent the human form in which Christians believe he clothed himself and as Orthodox Christians know, if God chose to reveal invisible things in visible matter then we honour God by doing the same. 

In the end God remains a mystery beyond our comprehension so to say ‘I don’t believe in God’ begs the question – well, what is it exactly that you don’t believe in because it’s likely that the Church doesn’t believe in that either. Once you begin to define what God is then God, in a sense, slips through your fingers.  Nowhere in the Jewish scriptures (the ‘Old Testament’) is there a definition of God – the closest one gets is that remarkable statement when God said to Moses: “I am who I am” or “I will be who I will be” or whatever the original Hebrew words mean. Now that seems to suggest God is not so much a ‘thing’ as a state of existence that cannot be named. One might say that God is the is-ness of is, pure being or becoming. Some speak of God as an ‘ocean of love’ or the heart of a mystery and so on. But none of these expressions seek to define what, in the end, is and always has been beyond our understanding.  I know some object to saying that God is a mystery but that’s how it’s always been. It’s not a ‘cop-out’ but, as St Ephrem the Syrian back in the fourth century realised, only something greater than God could possibly define God and there can be nothing greater than God …  So perhaps we might say that 'God' is a useful three-letter word to identify what is unidentifiable but which men and women down the centuries and around the world have believed in. I know we like to name things as it gives us the ability to identify them but – whoever or whatever God is – it would seem God clearly doesn’t want to be identified because as the Little Prince in Antoine de Saint-Exupéry  beautiful little book of that name said: “What is essential is invisible to the eye.”

Yes, there have been other ways of trying to identify God – the Holy, Faithful or Wise One for example – but these are merely attributes people have used to speak of God. Then there are metaphors: God is the potter, we the clay; the nursing mother or loving Father; God is light and in Him there is no darkness etc. Two of the most common ways of speaking of God are as the 'most Compassionate' and 'all-Merciful' One or the Holy, Faithful or Wise One, attributes which lie at the heart of both Christianity and Islam. Then there are metaphors: God is the potter, we the clay; the nursing mother or loving Father; God is light and in Him there is no darkness etc.  But you cannot say God is this or that. God is not this baby any more than God is that old man. What you can say, and what the Church says, is that God clothed Himself in our flesh and wore the garments of this baby who grew into a 33 year-old Palestinian man. He on whom we gaze with the eye of faith is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation. And then you would be able to say that what we see in Him reflects the nature of that which He contains leading Charles Wesley to sing:

            Jesu, thou art all-compassion,

            Pure unbounded love thou art.

But, more wonderful still, what we see in Him is a bright reflection of what lies within us.  We can reflect aspects of that diamond-studied divine compassion and love that dwells in Him; our being contains a reflection of the wonder He incarnates and which we are to reveal. If you behold glory in this child, that glory can be reflected in us, as the Turkish writer, Elif Shafak, has said: “How we see God is a direct reflection of how we see ourselves. If God brings to mind mostly fear and blame, it means there is too much fear and blame welled inside us. If we see God as full of love and compassion, so are we.” Perhaps, them, we might say that the aroma of 'God' invites us to seek the ultimate depth of all our being, the creative ground and meaning of all our existence. Maybe, then, it cannot be said that God ‘exists’ as you or I do, and that simple, three-lettered word offers the way we can express the inexpressibleness of life – that which painters and poets also struggle with. The great silence where a Word echoes; the expression of all that is, has been and will be. The silence of love.. The eternal darkness in which light shines.

If, then, the baby in the manger distracts you

from seeing what lies in the Cave of Bethlehem;

that reflection of the depth of human life,

then look beyond and realise the potential present in yourself,

the mystery that lies in the recesses of your own heart,

Perhaps, the importance of this Feast isn’t just that we celebrate God’s incarnation –

it is the Feast of what our humanity can become.

THREE MASSES FOR CHRISTMASS, A CRIB AND A PROCLAMATION

I notice that the Church of England Lectionary acknowledges three different sets of Readings for Christmas but does not explain why these are offered.  Some may not know the rich tradition that lies behind the choice of these readings (https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Midnight_Mass), but the reason why they are given  is quite simple.  They are appropriate to the three occasions when Mass is offered; occasions which, in turn, mark three distinct foci for the second greatest Feast of our Faith.  Rather than depending on personal preference (‘Any of the following sets of readings may be used on Christmas Night and on Christmas Day') these readings direct our attention to the progression whereby the mystery of the Incarnation was revealed.  So, for those who might be interested, the traditional Masses of the Incarnation with their appropriate readings are:

(Mid)Night          –           of the Angels (‘Set I’:  Isaiah 9.1-6; Titus 2.11-14; Luke 2.1-14)
Dawn                   –           of the Shepherds (‘Set II’:  Isaiah 62.6-12; Titus 3.4-7; Luke 2: 15-20)
Day                      –           of the Divine Word (‘Set III’: Isaiah 52.7-10; Hebrews 1.1-6; John 1.1-14)

I also notice that the liturgy for the Blessing of the Christmas Crib has been placed at the beginning, rather than the end, of Midnight Mass.  This seems a pity as it divorces the act from the presence of Christ in the Eucharist.  The Crib, of course, dates from 1223 when St. Francis first erected one for the people of Greccio in central Italy.  He wanted to present the reality of the Incarnation and so placed a bambino on the altar as Mass was celebrated.  It is recorded that, at the words of Institution, the bambino cried and Francis embraced it with tender devotion.  So the custom grew of the bambino being on the altar in front of the corporal during Mass and then processing it to the Crib at the end of the celebration.  This makes a clear connection with the Eucharistic Prayer and the presence of Christ beneath the outward forms of Bread and Wine and underlines the truth that Verbum caro factum est - the Word has become Flesh.   Once the Crib has been blessed with (with Holy Water and censed) it is customary to genuflect to the Bambino, just as one does to the Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, whenever passing until the end of Christmas Day.

Finally, I was introduced to the reading of the GREAT PROCLAMATION when I first attended Midnight Mass at Hilfield Friary.  This was performed immediately before singing the first carol (always ‘Once in Royal David’s City’) and I have, in turn, introduced in to many of the parishes in which I have been privileged to offer this Mass:

The Ancient and Great Proclamation
of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ

________________________________________________

In the five thousand, one hundred and ninety-ninth year from the creation of the world,

when God made out of nothing the heavens and the earth;

in the two thousand, nine hundred and fifty-seventh year from the flood;

in the two thousand and fifteenth year from the birth of Abraham;

in the one thousand five hundred and tenth year

from Moses and the exodus of the people of Israel from Egypt;

in the one thousand and thirty-second year from the anointing of David as king;

in the sixty-fifth week of years according to the prophecy of Daniel;

in the one hundred and ninety-fourth Olympiad;

in the seven hundred and fifty-second year from the foundation of the city of Rome;

in the forty-second year of the reign of Octavian Augustus, the whole earth being at peace:

JESUS CHRIST

the eternal God and Son of the eternal Father

willing to consecrate the world by his coming to us in mercy and grace,

having been conceived by the Holy Spirit,

and nine months having passed since his conception,

is born in Bethlehem in Judea of the Virgin Mary

AND IS MADE MAN!

ALLELUIA! ALLELUIA! ALLELUIA!