Good King Wenceslas looked out
On the feast of Stephen

Today is the Feast of Stephen, or Boxing Day. We don’t particularly celebrate this in the States, but it is an important day to note. The song Good King Wenceslas is set on the Feast of Stephen, and captures the spirit of the day, giving to those less fortunate. The meaning of the Feast of Stephen came home to me last night in a comment to a blog post I’d written a year and a half ago.

A year and a half ago, I wrote Clarence and Lori : Foreclosure, Bankruptcy, and Suicide; a post about my own financial struggles and recovery, as well as about a friend that did not recover. Last night, a visitor to my blog wrote:

Someone please send us an angel..........I have to close my business with chapter 7 and I am going down personally as well ( chapter 7 ) I only started the process and I do not think I have the strength or will to go through it. Thoughts of suicide always run through my head. I have alot of family and friend support and my wife as well...but she blames me for all of it too.....and she is right in a sense....I made a bad situation worse.
I hope someone is listening........

I listened, and sent the writer an email offering what I could for hope. Those of you that believe in the power of prayer, should lift up Michael.

When I was younger, fortune smiled kindly on me. I went from one successful job to another, only to find better pay and more success. I gave of my time and treasure to the church and life seemed simple. Yet things were not as good as they seemed and my marriage fell apart. For the first time, it seemed, I started running into problems bigger than I was.

As I stayed with friends while I tried to put my life together, one of them thanked me for giving them the opportunity to help someone. It had never occurred to me that my honest need for help from people around me could be a gift to them. Another person commented about the great hero myth as captured in the work of Joseph Campbell. The hero goes through trials and returns a changed person, bringing back the bounty gained through the tribulations. What have I brought back?

Perhaps, some of it is the spirit, not of Christmas, but of the Feast of Stephen. It is a hard won lesson, that no matter how ‘self-made’ we are, we all depend on God, and perhaps most importantly on God’s grace and love as shown through the people around us. It is a hard won lesson of gratitude for what we have that really matters, not the trinkets, or even somehow managing to avoid chapter 7 bankruptcy. It is our connections to our family, friends and neighbors, it is experiencing God’s love through them that matters. It is enduring hope, that even when things are at their bleakest, we can experience God’s love through the unexpected kindness of strangers.

So please, think about the Feast of St. Stephen as you go about your day. Think about Michael and his tribulations. Think about those around you that may be struggling and you might not even know it.

Happy Feast of Stephen.

Therefore, Christian men, be sure
Wealth or rank possessing
Ye who now will bless the poor
Shall yourselves find blessing