Here we are in this lovely interlude between Christmas and New Year’s. Some have a reduced work schedule or days off. We’ve not yet let go of the holidays nor engaged the coming year’s business. We’re a bit suspended in time. Actually we’re in the midst of the Twelve Days of Christmas or “Christmastide,” a time out of time to enjoy reflection on Jesus’ birth and its meaning in the world. It’s another way to new year.
This Sunday can be a bit of a “low Sunday.” That’s not a liturgical term. The proper name for the first Sunday after Christmas is “The First Sunday after Christmas.” We don’t always get it. Often, as the calendar lays out, we’ve had to race on to Epiphany to keep things on schedule.
So enjoy a mellow First Sunday after Christmas. It’s about what to wear. Little Samuel gets a new ephod, and the Colossian Church gets dressed in the qualities they need to do the work of God’s chosen ones. The birth of Jesus invites us into a different way of living in the world as we prepare to embark on a new year.