DAY 287
Faith in the Midst of a Pandemic
A series of daily reflections for people of faith
by Rev. Robert Bayley, Interim Pastor
Patuxent Presbyterian Church, California, Maryland
pastorrobert@paxpres.org
Week Forty-one Saturday 26 December 2020
Boxing Day
St. Stephen’s Day
Boxing Day, marked by our neighbors in Canada as well as throughout the English-speaking world with variations in other European countries, has its origin in a shrouded history going back centuries, first mentioned in the diary of one Samuel Pepys in 1660. The Victorians who elevated Christmas into a major celebration in England set this day in 1871 as a legal holiday. The two most probable origins of its name are that the ‘poor boxes’ in churches were emptied and distributed to the poor the day after Christmas, and those who could do so would take gifts and food from their Christmas feast the day before in a box to the home of a poor family. Boxing Day.
And St. Stephen? He remains the first Christian martyr, his special day in the Christian calendar placed the day after Christmas. Stephen was a ‘first deacon,’ committed to taking care of the poor and widowed in the early church, a fitting early church servant to look to as an example on this the day set aside to serve, as did he, the poor.
And ‘Good King Wenceslas’? Ruler of Bohemia in the 10th century, legends that grew up around him after his death had him known for his regular service to the poor and needy, hence his association with this day. The familiar carol below blends these two stories into one.
Reflective question: Do you have something you can put in a box and take to someone who needs it today?
Reflective Scripture: Acts 6:5 – “They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit;…”
Reflective hymn:
“Good King Wenceslas Looked Out” – John Mason Neale (1818-1886)
- Good King Wenceslas looked out on the Feast of Stephen,
When the snow lay round about, deep and crisp and even.
Brightly shone the moon that night, though the frost was cruel,
When a poor man came in sight, gathering winter fuel.
- “Hither, page, and stand by me, if thou know’st it, telling,
Yonder peasant, who is he? Where and what his dwelling?”
“Sire, he lives a good league hence, underneath the mountain,
Right against the forest fence, by St. Agnes’ fountain.“
- “Bring me flesh and bring me wine, bring me pine logs hither.
Thou and I will see him dine, when we bear them thither.”
Page and monarch, forth they went, forth they went together,
Through the rude wind’s wild lament and the bitter weather.
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