Comments on: Keep the “Mass” in Christmas http://seminaryblog.com/2007/12/keep-the-mass-in-christmas/ A blog by the Admission Department of Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, IN Thu, 22 Mar 2012 17:26:02 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Brian Westgate http://seminaryblog.com/2007/12/keep-the-mass-in-christmas/comment-page-1/#comment-82 Brian Westgate Mon, 31 Dec 2007 05:08:03 +0000 http://seminaryblog.com/2007/12/29/keep-the-mass-in-christmas/#comment-82 Here's a thought I had yesterday morning (it's just past midnight. Why am I still up?) Take it for what it's worth, admittedly not much. There are three masses for Christmass, technically The Nativity of our Lord. The first mass is Midnight Mass (which was quite lovely and charming at Zion Detroit) this year, the Aurora Mass, and then High Mass, which just might be the real "Christ-Mass." Here’s a thought I had yesterday morning (it’s just past midnight. Why am I still up?) Take it for what it’s worth, admittedly not much. There are three masses for Christmass, technically The Nativity of our Lord. The first mass is Midnight Mass (which was quite lovely and charming at Zion Detroit) this year, the Aurora Mass, and then High Mass, which just might be the real “Christ-Mass.”

]]> By: Phil Dunker http://seminaryblog.com/2007/12/keep-the-mass-in-christmas/comment-page-1/#comment-80 Phil Dunker Sun, 30 Dec 2007 00:29:59 +0000 http://seminaryblog.com/2007/12/29/keep-the-mass-in-christmas/#comment-80 It seems odd that people who preach about welcoming Christ to Earth would turn around and exclude Holy Communion from Christmas(s). I fine it's easier to locate the clear promise in the "This Is My Body" than it is for me to understand exactly what "O Little Town of Bethlehem" means when it sings "Be born in us today"... the Incarnation happened once, didn't it? and where is this promised? I may be ignorant on this, but I've always had a hard time understanding what that figure of speech means exactly, as opposed to the literal Verba. On the other hand, I wonder whether the same influences that remove the Sacrament from Christmas wouldn't result in a "Come one, come all" approach to Communion fellowship if it were celebrated. I would suspect that at least some churches don't welcome the Sacrament on Christmas because of the difficulty of maintaining closed communion. It seems odd that people who preach about welcoming Christ to Earth would turn around and exclude Holy Communion from Christmas(s). I fine it’s easier to locate the clear promise in the “This Is My Body” than it is for me to understand exactly what “O Little Town of Bethlehem” means when it sings “Be born in us today”… the Incarnation happened once, didn’t it? and where is this promised? I may be ignorant on this, but I’ve always had a hard time understanding what that figure of speech means exactly, as opposed to the literal Verba.

On the other hand, I wonder whether the same influences that remove the Sacrament from Christmas wouldn’t result in a “Come one, come all” approach to Communion fellowship if it were celebrated. I would suspect that at least some churches don’t welcome the Sacrament on Christmas because of the difficulty of maintaining closed communion.

]]> By: Seolyk http://seminaryblog.com/2007/12/keep-the-mass-in-christmas/comment-page-1/#comment-79 Seolyk Sat, 29 Dec 2007 21:56:50 +0000 http://seminaryblog.com/2007/12/29/keep-the-mass-in-christmas/#comment-79 I understand what you're getting at, but you really have the ancient Roman church to blame for Christianizing pagan traditions. i'm not saying that doing that was a bad thing either, because I believe that it is important for different cultures to worship God in their own special way. However, in regards to a Christian Christmas not looking like an atheist/pagan... i would say that the missionaries to the anglo-saxons and nordic peoples nailed that coffin shut. I understand what you’re getting at, but you really have the ancient Roman church to blame for Christianizing pagan traditions. i’m not saying that doing that was a bad thing either, because I believe that it is important for different cultures to worship God in their own special way. However, in regards to a Christian Christmas not looking like an atheist/pagan… i would say that the missionaries to the anglo-saxons and nordic peoples nailed that coffin shut.

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