December 25: Christmas Day
Bosco Peters
| 24 Dec 2011
Print This
TEXT
Top News...
- Latest
- Most commented
Let us pray (in silence) [with joy and hope as we await the dawning of God's Word]
pause
Almighty God,
you make us glad with the yearly festival
of the birth of your Son, Jesus Christ,
the light of the world;
grant that we,
who have known the revelation of that light on earth,
may see the radiance of your heavenly glory;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God now and for ever.
Amen
.
NZPB p. 555
This collect has a complex history resulting in weaving together threads of Advent, Christmas, and the solstice. The skillful uniting of Advent and Christmas makes it appropriate for the transition between these two seasons.
Cranmer's 1549 Christmas collect was:
GOD, whiche makest us glad with the yerely remembraunce of the birth of thy onely sonne Jesus Christ; graunt that as we joyfully receiue him for our redemer, so we may with sure confidence beholde hym, when he shall come to be our judge, who liveth and reigneth &c.
This was a translation of a Gelasian Advent collect (one can see the Advent theme), later used in the Gregorian sacramentary for the Vigil Mass of Christmas where it is also placed in the Sarum Missal. Cranmer has changed the preamble from "who makes us glad with the annual expectation of our redemption."
It was dropped for the 1552 Prayer Book but restored in 1928 for Christmas Eve.
A second collect, found in CofE's ASB for Christmas "midnight or in the early morning":
Eternal God,
who made this most holy night
to shine with the brightness of your one true light:
bring us, who have known the revelation of that light on earth,
to see the radiance of your heavenly glory:
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
This collect originates in the Gelasian Sacramentary for the Vigil Mass of Christmas (5) and the Gregorian Sacramentary for the stational Mass of Midnight at St Mary Major (36) and is used in the Sarum Missal for the Christmas Mass at Cockcrow (iv). It is an early reminder of the Christian rivalry with solstice celebrations.
The NZ collect has seamlessly combined these two early collects.
Useful Links
For homegrown offerings, try Bosco Peters' website: http:// www.liturgy.co.nz
You may also add your reflections on the Sunday readings: http://www.liturgy.co.nz/blog/lectionarybos5/298
New Zealand worship resources: http://www.anglican.org.nz/Resources/Lectionary-and-Worship
For sermons, texts and graphics: http://www.textweek.com/
Editors' Picks
'Horrific' violence against women
Violence against women in the Pacific is “horrific” and must be addressed, says an Australian...
Back to the community – every day
What we need is a "Back to the Community" campaign, says the vicar of a quake zone.
Cathedral bells bound for UK
The ChristChurch Cathedral bells will soon be enroute to England for testing and repair.
New guidelines for marriage rites
A “consensus description” of Anglican theology on marriage rites is being finalized by the Int...
A unique and final honour
Sir Paul Reeves is accorded a unique last honour. He is laid to rest on the gentle north-facin...
Decision time on gay ordination
The question of whether openly gay and lesbian people can be ordained should be settled s...
© Anglican Taonga
ANGLICAN TAONGA is the communications arm of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia / Te Haahi Mihanare ki Niu Tireni, ki Nga Moutere o Te Moana Nui a Kiwa. TAONGA magazine is published three times a year and distributed to all Anglican ministry units and agencies. TAONGA also publishes occasional booklets on church, ministry and sacraments. The General Editor of TAONGA is accountable to the Communications Commission of General Synod / te Hinota Whanui, 200 St Johns Road, Meadowbank, Auckland 1742.
Comments on this story
Log in or create a user account to comment.