Just some wrap-up thoughts on the megachurch closings, until the next round of stories.

As someone pointed out in the comments, this is an excellent conversation for all of us of whatever Christian stripe, to be having. It prompts us to look at the purpose of worship and liturgy, the relationship between church and the world, and what it means, in a Christian context, to celebrate a feast.

In one of the comments thread at one of the Protestant blogs, I read a statement that went something like this: "Who cares what they did in the Early Church? Why should that be normative?" Which, of course, lays the whole question bare. The point being that while liturgical observances do indeed shift, develop and evolve over time, what has remained constant is the fact that Christians historically celebrate holy days liturgically. Period. The core of Christian remembrance is not individual prayer at home, is not a family meal, but joining oneself to the prayer of the Church.

As I stated before, there is nothing shocking about these churches closing on Christmas day (except for the fact that it is a Sunday) – it seems to me to be the logical consequence of the Reformation Project.

But the more pertinent part of the conversation for most of us here at this blog is what it’s brought out about our own Catholic practices and expectations. The move to Christmas Eve, and away from Christmas Day is fairly widespread (except, it seems, when a parish decides to bite the bullet, buck the trends, embrace a few more cliches, and really make a big deal out of a Christmas Day liturgy. Then people will come).

But what has been forgotten, in this move, is that while traditional liturgy of the Roman Catholic, Orthodox and Anglican traditions does include the Vigil of this and any other holy day as an important and legitimate aspect of this celebration, the nature of the vigil is always different from the liturgy of the holy day itself. It is not an exact equivalent of the holy day’s liturgy. Yes, it "counts," but the readings and prayers are different – for reason. The liturgies speak to different moments in time, different aspects of the event. In early Christianity, a vigil liturgy might begin in the evening, but it would also continue, in some form or another, through the night. This way of doing vigil is something I experienced (sleepily) the year we went ot St. Meinrad Archabbey on Easter. The Vigil began in the evening – up through the Liturgy of the Word. Then there was a break – I am not sure if the monks go to bed or not, or if they stay up, keeping vigil. But the liturgy begins again at about 5am, when one of the monks comes in an chants, (I’m paraphrasing) "Archabbot, I have great news! The women have gone to the tomb and found it to be empty! Jesus is risen!"

The Chrismtas liturgies are not as elaborate, of course, but the Christmas Vigil and Midnight Mass liturgies are, indeed, distinct from the Christmas Day liturgies, and no matter if you go to one or more, it behooves us to keep that distinction in mind, both as individuals, and as a Church. The reason I love Midnight Mass and miss attending, is that I am simply overwhelmed by the fact of the Incarnation, and the mystery of God becoming flesh, born of a woman, in the chill and dark of night, is a reality that the Midnight Mass embodies, in turn, in ways that are unique. In the morning, the Child is washed and clean, and we can join in the joy of those looking on, refreshed by sleep and the promise of a new day, but there is something about gathering in the middle of the night, and contemplating our LIght aborning in the midst of darkness, knowing that darkness will soon lose its grip, that is irreplacable by anything that comes before or after.

So no, this is not just about celebrating "Christmas" at times that may or may not be convenient. What the conversation reveals is the poverty of the non-liturgical Christian traditions in this regard, and our own poverty, when we who are the heirs and guardians of 2000 years of reflection and tradition, turn our backs on the rich theological and spiritual feast that’s ours, and start thinking, like the rest of the world, about what we have to squeeze in, so that the religious part of Christmas is taken care of, and the real celebrations can begin.