Day by Day
Dear friends
As the winding early road of Advent morphs into a four lane motorway, candles are lit with seeming abandon, and, in this week, the school term comes crashing to an end, (to the relief of teachers, and the possible dismay of parents), I invite you to consider Advent in a fresh way. Most of our contemporary approach to the penitential season is one of “counting down”; we burn away a marked candle, a day at a time; we work through a series of readings and prayers; we have a calendar which we open daily, revealing perhaps a scripture, or some kind of treat (a chocolate, a bubble bath….?). The premise being, that when Advent comes to a close, “it” will all be gone. Candle, book, treats. Advent, the season of emptying.
However the Advent calendar that Emma and I (and our family) use is slightly different. It starts as a bare painted wooden board – colourful, but empty. Numbered holes on the board indicate where wooden figures are to be fixed, from 1st December until the 25th. Advent remains a daily journey, but it is a gathering together of the Christmas story, with stars, angels, shepherds, kings, and a few animals, to join Mary, Joseph and the crib. The picture is not complete until Christmas Day. So, Advent in the Davies’ household is one of “filling up” the story, and it reminds me that God’s plan is made good with patience, and that right from the beginning of Creation, everything (including us in our small lives) finds its focus and “is completed” at the birth of our Saviour.
In the olden days, when Bishops wrote prayers (or, rather, when the prayers that Bishops wrote were read) Bishop Richard of Chichester (13thC) expressed his devotion in this famous way:
Thanks be to Thee, my Lord Jesus Christ
For all the benefits Thou hast given me,
For all the pains and insults Thou hast borne for me.
O most merciful Redeemer, friend and brother,
May I know Thee more clearly,
Love Thee more dearly,
Follow Thee more nearly.
To these words, the Anglican hymnal, followed by the 1973 musical “Godspell” added the “Day by Day“, and a tune, which took the prayer into popular awareness once again, and for us, serve as a happy reminder that Advent is to be taken much as a pilgrimage – one step, one day at a time, and Christmas will come when it does. We take each day as a gift entire in itself, and leave the rest to our Lord.
There are some wonderful Christmas services to choose from this year, and I look forward to seeing all of you at some point during the Festival. We share tidings of comfort and joy.
Wednesday 18th December
2.30pm Checkendon Primary School Christmas Service, in church, with Canon Kevin Davies. All welcome. Come and hear the school choir, and enjoy some carols together with pupils and parents.
Friday 20th December
6pm Carols round the Well, at the Maharajah’s Well, Stoke Row. Canon Kevin Davies and Revd Mark Taylor.
Festive Carol singing for the whole community, followed by mulled wine and mince pies in the village hall. Hosted by St John’s Church, and Stoke Row Chapel.
Sunday 22nd December. The fourth Sunday of Advent.
4pm Carol Service at St John’s Stoke Row with Revd Romey Poston
6pm Carols by candlelight at St Peter and St Paul, Checkendon. A traditional service of readings and carols, followed by mulled wine and mince pies.
Services for Christmas
Christmas Eve Tuesday 24th December
4pm Christingle Service at St Peter and St Paul, Checkendon, with the children’s choir, church music group, and a Christingle to take home.
11pm Midnight Communion at St Leonard’s Woodcote.
Christmas Day
11am Christmas Celebration at St Peter and St Paul, Checkendon, with Canon Kevin Davies.
Sunday 31st December
10.30am Team Service of alternative readings and carols at St Peter and St Paul, Checkendon, with Revd Romey Poston.
Optional Bonus Prayer Supplement for Advent and Christmas
The threefold form (clearly/dearly/nearly) of St Richard’s prayer follows a literary pattern sometimes found in the Psalms, when a repetition/rhyme gives emphasis, to catch your attention and/or to stress a point. A bit like underlining, and then double underlining. It is a way of writing which lends itself to prayer; Richard points all our attention, right at the close of his prayer, to the word “nearly” – from which we learn that his (and so our) heart’s desire is to be as close as we can to our Lord in our daily following. The prayer is completely answered for us, of course, in the birth of our Saviour, when God comes as close as He possibly can be, and so it is an ideal one for us to use at this season.
If you are a writer, or a journaller, why not have a go at writing a prayer in this ascending form? Here’s an example (albeit a rather cheeky one) of my own, which I first used at a meeting of the Oxford Diocesan Synod, and I find still useful for lifting committees out of an over estimation of their own importance.
In our thinking, may there be clarity
In our speaking, may there be charity
And in all things, may there be brevity
For Christ’s sake. Amen.
One Comment
I love the idea of an empty Advent calendar to be filled up gradually during Advent. Thank you for that. I was surprised to learn that “day by day” had been added to the prayer of St Richard of Chichester as I remember it being part of the prayer we learnt at our C of E primary school in Bury St Edmunds in the 1950s. We also learnt such gems as the prayer of St Ignatius Loyola and some of the collects in the Book of Common Prayer like the 7th Sunday after Trinity – “Lord of all power and might…”. I remember we used to end the day in class by saying together “Lighten our darkness….” from Evening Prayer. What a treasure we lost when we ditched the old BCP.