Monday after Epiphany

Lectionary: 212

And his commandment is this: we should  believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, 

and love one another just as he commanded  us. Those who keep his commandments  remain in him, and he in them, and the way we know that he remains in us is from the Spirit whom he gave us.

Pity the calendar maker who has to force the solar year, the lunar month and the seven-day week into an intelligible system. The year has 365 days -- and one quarter; which gives us a leap year every four years -- except for three of every four hundred years. The lunar month has 29 days, sort of. The week is seven days, by tradition. 

Pity also the liturgist who must schedule the celebrations of Christmas, Easter, and their respective seasons. This year we have six full weeks of the Christmas cycle, beginning in early December and extending into mid-January. Advent was only twenty-two days but we get three full weeks of Christmas, concluding with the Baptism of the Lord. That's forty-three days! Last year's Advent was even shorter. Christmas fell on Monday and so we had only twenty-one days, and the Christmas season was only sixteen. The whole thing was over in thirty-seven days. 

Personally, I am glad of the extra long post-Christmas season; it compensates for the brief Advent. We have time to consider the graciousness of God our Father, the goodness of Jesus our Brother, and the generosity of our Sister/Mother Mary. 

As many of our neighbors, friends and coworkers have put Christmas far behind them -- some were so exhausted they gave up before Christmas Day! -- we ponder how the Miracle changes us. Today Saint John urges us to remain in him. 

This is a constant theme of Saint John's writings. The Baptist's disciples go to stay with him. They abide in him. Only the disciple knows where he lives, where he comes from or where he's going. But we know it only as the Holy Spirit knows it, which is a mystery too deep for words. The best we can say is "he comes from his Father" and "...from above." 

Remaining in him, I think, requires three particular actions: 

First, we must pray daily. I am blessed to practice the Liturgy of the Hours, which offers five prayers for each day of the year. Liturgy, by definition, is the prayer of the whole church, including the saints of the past, present and future, along with nine choirs of angels. If my own recitation is pretty quiet, the chorus of praise is thunderous. But daily prayer also includes private devotions like scripture reading (lectio divina), the rosary and the examen. (I find the rosary is a wonderful prayer for driving; it cures road rage.)

Secondly, we remain in him by our fellowship. Christians take delight in one another's company. We talk the talk as we walk the walk. We encourage one another, confess our failings to one another, and learn to admire how the Spirit works in each of us. A solitary Christian is like a man lost in the desert; he can manage for a while but his time is short. 

Finally, we practice charity. No one is expected to perform all eight corporal and all eight spiritual works of mercy. That the province of the whole church. But each of does a part.

Some people think they abide in him only by practicing charity to others. But without the daily bread of prayer and the support of others, those individuals will find some other consolations for their sacrifices. They're probably doing very well while they do good. 

"Look at the humility of God!" Saint Francis said. Keeping our eyes fixed on the Babe of Bethlehem -- even into mid-January -- gives us the vision, energy and direction to remain in him.