The History of the Christmas Collects
We expect the Christmas Collects to celebrate the birth of Jesus, and they do. But they also surprise us by repeatedly applying the birth of Christ to the life of the Christian believer. Because he is light, we can know light. Because he was born, we can be born again. Because he shared the life of man, we can share the divine life of God.
In other words, the Christmas Collects mostly resist the domestic and the sentimental. They wouldn’t work so well on Hallmark cards, or at least not the ones written by Cranmer! Instead, the Christmas Collects fire our imagination with the holiness, the power, and the deeper meaning of Christmas.
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The Christmas Collects are on pages 599-601 of the 2019 Book of Common Prayer. In researching this topic, I especially drew from commentaries by Massey Hamilton Shepherd, Jr., Marion J. Hatchett, and C. Frederick Barbee and Paul F. M. Zahl.
What is a collect? A collect is a short, formal prayer written in “collect form,” typically appointed for a particular occasion. The Book of Common Prayer is full of collects—and here at Anglican Compass, we love them! Previously, we have published reflections on many individual collects, and articles on the history of the Advent, Lent, Holy Week, and the Easter Week collects.
Christmas Eve
O God, you have caused this holy night to shine with the brightness of the true Light: Grant that we, who have known the mystery of that Light on earth, may also enjoy him perfectly in heaven; where with you and the Holy Spirit he lives and reigns, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.
This medieval collect was used both in Rome and in Salisbury for either the midnight Mass or the sunrise service on Christmas Day. The major theme is light, the true Light of Christ, which has come into the world and will be the light of the faithful in heaven. Scripturally, the reference here is to John 1:9: “The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.”
It first appeared in the 1979 Prayer Book as a second collect for Christmas Day, and the 2019 Prayer Book retained it specifically for Christmas Eve. Perhaps in response to the increasing frequency of Christmas Eve services, the 2019 is the first Prayer Book to identify Christmas Eve separately from Christmas Day (though no distinction is made in the lectionary). In this context, the phrase “holy night” is especially apropos, given the popularity of two carols that use the phrase: Silent Night and O Holy Night.
Christmas Day
Almighty God, you have given your only-begotten Son to take our nature upon him, and to be born [this day] of a pure virgin: Grant that we, who have been born again and made your children by adoption and grace, may daily be renewed by your Holy Spirit; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom with you and the same Spirit be honor and glory, now and forever. Amen.
This collect, first written by Thomas Cranmer in 1549, hinges on the comparison between Christ’s birth and our second birth. Christ is God’s Son by nature, but because he has taken our nature upon him, we have become God’s children by adoption and grace. We now participate in the divine family, and like Christ, we now have daily access to the Holy Spirit of God. Thus, in a single collect, we have a clear articulation of two major doctrines: the incarnation and regeneration by grace, and in a distinctly Trinitarian form!
Such a rich collect is reason enough to go to church on Christmas Day! A recommendation for those who do not attend public worship: consider using this collect in your private devotions or use it as the grace before your family’s Christmas meal.
The First Sunday of Christmas
Almighty God, you have poured upon us the new light of your incarnate Word: Grant that this light, kindled in our hearts, may shine forth in our lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
This collect has a medieval origin and was first added to the 1928 Prayer Book for use on the Second Sunday of Christmas. The 1979 Prayer Book was relocated to the First Sunday of Christmas and paired with the reading of John 1 so that both the collect and gospel tell the story of “the new light of your incarnate word.”
While there’s certainly nothing wrong with this collect and its associated gospel, I’d argue that the common practice of reading John 1 on Christmas Eve (or even earlier, as a part of the service of Nine Lessons and Carols) makes the themes of this Sunday somewhat redundant.
One way to resolve this, in future revisions, would be to designate John 1 specifically for Christmas Eve and thereby create space for a second set of themes on the First Sunday of Christmas. A helpful analogy is the second Sunday of Easter, commonly called Thomas Sunday, which uses the story of St Thomas as another angle on the meaning of the resurrection. Similarly, the first Sunday of Christmas could be Joseph Sunday, reading Matthew 1:18-25 (as in the 1662 and 1928 Prayer Books). This would bring out the character of Joseph, the fulfillment of the Immanuel prophecy, and the meaning of the name of Jesus. The Matthew reading would also prepare the way for Matthew 2:1-12 on the second Sunday of Christmas.
The Circumcision and Holy Name of Our Lord Jesus Christ
Almighty God, your blessed Son fulfilled the covenant of circumcision for our sake, and was given the Name that is above every name: Give us grace faithfully to bear his Name, and to worship him with pure hearts according to the New Covenant; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
New to the 2019 BCP, this collect is an ambitious attempt to combine the themes of both the Circumcision and the Holy Name. It uses a chiastic (envelope) structure to apply the circumcision and name of Jesus to us, as follows:
A1 – covenant of circumcision
B1 – Name above every name
B2 – faithfully to bear his Name
A2 – according to the New Covenant
Though I admire the attempt, in my view, this is an example of a collect that does too much. One problem here is that the word covenant is used equivocally: where the first use refers to circumcision, the second seems to refer more generally to the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. While both of these covenants involve blood (Biblical Covenants often involve blood!), we’ve now lost sight of the circumcision of Christ.
Far more direct is Cranmer’s original collect for this day:
Almighty God, which madest thy blessed son to be circumcised, and obedient to the law for man; Grant us the true circumcision of thy spirit, that our hearts, and all our members, being mortified from all worldly and carnal lusts, may in all things obey thy blessed will; through the same thy son Jesus Christ our Lord.
I understand the hesitation of modern editors to include such a bracing collect in the midst of the joyful Christmastide. However, Cranmer’s theological and moral clarity is much needed in our time. Perhaps future editions could include both Cranmer’s original collect, together with a collect specifically for the Holy Name, such as this from the 1979 Prayer Book:
Eternal Father, you gave to your incarnate Son the holy name of Jesus to be the sign of our salvation: Plant in every heart, we pray, the love of him who is the Savior of the world, our Lord Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.
The Second Sunday of Christmas
O God, who wonderfully created, and yet more wonderfully restored, the dignity of human nature: Grant that we may share the divine life of him who humbled himself to share our humanity, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Though new to the 1979 Prayer Book, this collect is drawn from some of the most ancient ecclesial sources. And the language is distinctly Biblical. The use of the word “wonderfully” is reminiscent of Psalm 139, which three times speaks of the wonder of God’s work in the creation of man. The humility of Christ draws on the great hymn of his self-emptying in Philippians 2.
Theologically, this collect brings us full circle to the themes of the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day collects. Because God has become man, we men can now participate in the life of God.
In other words, we have an answer to that great question: What is the meaning of Christmas? Divine life! God sent his Son to save us from our sins and restore us to new and divine life in him.
Image of the Nativity from 15th century stained glass in the Bayeux Cathedral. Photo by Jorisvo, courtesy of iStock.
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