December 19, 2020
Good Morning, God and All! O Flower of Jesse’s stem, you have been raised up as a sign for all peoples; kings stand silent in your presence; the nations bow down in worship before you. Come, let nothing keep you from coming to our aid!
By The Numbers:
It’s the 354th day of the year, with 12 days remaining.
Days ‘til Yulfestimazaox: 2/4/6/7/7
Cost of the gifts named in The 12 Days of Christmas this year, according to The PNC Christmas Price Index, which this year includes adjustments for the pandemic’s impact on the cost of purchasing the presents in the renowned carol: $16,168.64
Percent decrease from Last Christmas (when I gave you my heart): 58.5%
This year’s index accounts for cancellations of many live performances. It’s a silent night at most symphonies and the lights have dimmed for many dancers this holiday season, which contributes to the year-over-year decline.
Specifically: A PARTRIDGE IN A PEAR TREE $210.18 (no change from 2019)
TWO TURTLE DOVES $450.00 (+50.0%)
THREE FRENCH HENS $210.00 (+15.7%)
FOUR CALLING BIRDS $599.96 (no change from 2019)
FIVE GOLD RINGS $945.00 (+14.5%)
SIX GEESE-A-LAYING $570.00 (+35.7%)
SEVEN SWANS-A-SWIMMING $13,125 (no change from 2019)
EIGHT MAIDS-A-MILKING $58.00 (no change from 2019)
Prices for the Nine Ladies Dancing, Ten Lords a-Leaping, Eleven Pipers Piping, and Twelve Drummers Drumming: Not Available (as live entertainment has been largely shut down due to the pandemic)
Start Your Day With A Song:
Where Are You, Christmas from the 2000 motion picture “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” Writers: Mariah Carey, James Horner, and Will Jennings; performance: Faith Hill (for an equally moving performance by the acapella group Pentatonix, click here)
O Radix (Rod/Flower) Jesse:
Part of the great seven-day acclamations prayed by the Church in the last days before the celebration of Christmas, the “flower of Jesse’s stem” and its variations refers to the promised Messiah’s ancestry. In the New Testament the lineage of Jesus is traced by two of the Gospel writers, Matthew in descending order, and Luke in ascending order. Luke's Gospel's description in chapter 3 begins with Jesus himself and is traced all the way back, via Nathan to David and then on to "Adam, which was [the son] of God.". (Luke 3:23–38) Matthew's Gospel opens with the words: "The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham." (Matthew 1:1) With this beginning, Matthew shows the Abrahamic and royal descent, passing through David, but then through Solomon.
Think About It…(the Message):
It’s been quite a year, hasn’t it? Things sure went crazy in a hurry. The last thing resembling ‘normal’ was Christmas, twelve months ago. January started with a bang - the impeachment of the POTUS - and it never really got better. After that, the COVID-19 pandemic took over and never looked back. It’s shrouded every portion of life, and as we turn the page on a year we’d just as soon forget, who can say things are better now? The manner in which we’ve had to celebrate special days has radically changed. It remains to be seen how permanent those changes could be.
Unlike the entertainment media, which likes to present their rendition of what the holidays should be like - but cannot possibly be like - before the end of October, so that we’re completely fed up with it before December 25, I try to wait until just before Thanksgiving to start expressing the spirit of Advent, Christmas, and the many other festivals that warm the heart in the cold weather. Yes, the stuff that lights up the darkness inside and out while waiting for the brilliance of the Divine Light coming into the world. This year, as if on cue, one song in particular was destined to hold my attention; it’s the featured song this week. But as is also my desire to bring the true reason for the season to the forefront, the song needed a slight update. Nothing says more to me about Christmas 2020.
It’s right to lament that this Christmas will for most be different - subdued, even to the point where a few may wonder if it’s worth the bother to do anything to celebrate. But we who await Christ’s coming must also find the hope and joy and assurance that the season brings to those who seek the Holy Child.
But enough of that. With a nod to the writers above for a great song, one that just needs a little push to be even greater, I’ll let the lyrics do the talking. (My alterations are in italics.)
Where are you Christmas
Why can't I find you
Why have you gone away
Where is the laughter
You used to bring me
Why can't I hear music play
The world is changing
And rearranging
Does that mean Christmas changes too
Where are you Jesus
You do remember
The people that you know
I'm not the same one
See what our sins have done
Is that why you have let us go
Christmas is here
Everywhere, oh
Jesus is here
If you care, oh
If there is love in your heart and your mind
Jesus will be with us all the time, oh
I feel you Jesus
I know I've found you
You'll never fade away
The joy of Christmas
Stays here inside us
Fills each and every heart
With love
May every Christmas
Fill your heart with love
Memorable Moments:
1154 – Henry II of England is crowned at Westminster Abbey.
1187 – Pope Clement III is elected.
1606 – The ships Susan Constant, Godspeed, and Discovery depart England carrying settlers who founded, at Jamestown, Virginia, the first of the thirteen colonies that became the United States.
1776 – Thomas Paine publishes one of a series of pamphlets in The Pennsylvania Journal entitled "The American Crisis".
1777 – American Revolutionary War: George Washington's Continental Army goes into winter quarters at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.
1828 – Nullification crisis: Vice President of the United States John C. Calhoun pens the South Carolina Exposition and Protest, protesting the Tariff of 1828.
1907 – Two hundred thirty-nine coal miners die in the Darr Mine Disaster in Jacobs Creek, Pennsylvania.
1972 – Apollo program: The last manned lunar flight, Apollo 17, crewed by Eugene Cernan, Ronald Evans, and Harrison Schmitt, returns to Earth.
1974 – Nelson Rockefeller is sworn in as Vice President of the United States under President Gerald Ford under the provisions of the 25th Amendment to the United States Constitution.
1998 – President Bill Clinton is impeached by the United States House of Representatives, becoming the second President of the United States to be impeached.
Happy Birthday!!!
1925 – Robert B. Sherman, American songwriter and screenwriter (d. 2012)
1940 – Phil Ochs, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1976)
1942 – "Mean Gene" Okerlund, American sports announcer (d. 2019)
1944 – Tim Reid, American actor and director
1952 – Walter Murphy, American pianist and composer
We Remember:
1123 – Saint Berardo, Italian bishop and saint
1370 – Pope Urban V (b. 1310)
1848 – Emily Brontë, English novelist and poet (b. 1818)
1915 – Alois Alzheimer, German psychiatrist and neuropathologist (b. 1864)
1997 – Jimmy Rogers, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1924)
2012 – Robert Bork, American lawyer, judge, and scholar, United States Attorney General (b. 1927)
Parting Words:
It seems my ‘dance card’ has become quite full! In spite of the effects of the pandemic, I am very busy this coming week and next, spreading the musical message that through the Love that comes from God, somehow or other, Christmas comes just the same! As much as I wish I would find the time to write, I also wish to rest; because liturgically, next weekend is only halftime in a busy two weeks. I get to repeat much of the past week’s schedule this coming week and into the week following Christmas! Therefore, I am not planning a Post for next weekend, but will share from my archives if I find a suitable reflection there. I plan on starting the new year moving forward, looking back only to get my bearings. Please stay healthy and safe wherever you are and whatever you do, and I will do my best to do the same!
Until we meet again, may God bless you with the fullness of Christmas joy! May peace and love surround you and your loved ones now and in the year ahead…and may God have mercy on us all…
+the Phoenix