PRAYING THE CHRISTMAS COLLECTS
The traditional Collect for Christmas-Day, the Feast of the Nativity of our Lord, in the BCP 1662 reads:

“Almighty God, who hast given us thy only-begotten Son to take our nature upon him, and as at this time to be born of a pure Virgin: Grant that we being regenerate, and made thy children by adoption and grace, may daily be renewed by thy Holy Spirit: through the same our Lord Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the same Spirit, ever one God, world without end.Amen.”

Originally in the BCP 1549, the very first edition of the BCP, it read “this day to be born of a pure Virgin” for it was intended for Christmas Day only. Later, as it was used during the week after Christmas it was changed to “as at this time to be born of a pure Virgin.”

What we seem to have lost, I think, in much modern Anglican worship is the sense of living within what I may call liturgical time and within the Church Year. Only as we so live, think, pray and meditate can we really pray meaningfully the Christmas Collect(s).

That is, the Collect only makes full sense if, and only if, during the season of Advent we have entered into the preparation for the Birth & Coming of the Messiah through our association in reading, meditating and praying with the righteous remnant of Israel, particularly John the Baptist. In Liturgical time, as contrasted with chronological or regular time, we place ourselves in the sphere of the Holy Spirit within God’s historical revelation and acts of redemption and move with Him through them. And with the righteous in Israel we look for the Advent of the Messiah. Doing so we can then share the joy of the shepherds, of Mary and Joseph, and of Simeon and Anna.

Thus on Christmas Eve/Day we can truly exclaim in joy that the Messiah is born [as also on Easter Day we can shout with more joy that he is risen from the dead, and on Pentecost we can rejoice in the gift of the indwelling and empowering Holy Spirit].

Further, as the words of the Collect remind us we can rejoice that because of the Incarnation of the only Son of the almighty Father there can be and is regeneration for man.

The second Collect for Christmas found in the BCP 1549 and the American BCP 1928 but not in the BCP 1662 reads:

“God [the Father], which makest us glad with the yearly remembrance of the birth of thy only Son; grant that as we joyfully receive him as our Redeemer, so we may with sure confidence behold him, when he shall come to be our Judge, who liveth and reigneth…”

Once again a careful noting of these words makes us realize again that fully to experience that of which they speak we need to be “in the Spirit” moving with the Lord God in his acts of revelation and redemption in ancient Israel so that the Incarnation is the cause for great joy – Glory to God in the highest!—and in the light of the First Coming we live in expectation of the Second! At Christmas we “receive him as our Redeemer” both within Liturgical Time and also as the Lord of the present time who redeems us now because he lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Ghost, one God.



The Rev’d Dr Peter Toon December 22, 2001 Peter@toon662.fsnet.co.uk

The Revd. Dr. Peter Toon
Christ Church Rectory
Hot Lane, Biddulph Moor
Stoke-on-Trent ST8 7HP
England