Homily, Christ the First Footer
First Sunday after Christmas (New Year’s Eve), Year B, 2023
Good Shepherd Episcopal Church
Tequesta, FL
The Rev. Derek M Larson, TSSF
Today’s Lectionary Readings:
In the name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.
You can imagine the excitement in the wee hours of the night when normally all would be fast asleep but on this night everyone is joyfully alert to welcome the new year. Family and friends have gathered across the Scottish Highlands many years ago in various homes to celebrate Hogmanay, or New Year’s Eve. Some have houses full of young and enthusiastic celebrants at the prime of their lives, eager to see what the new year will bring. Some have houses of children, whose joy is infectious, even if mixed with the anxiety of many mouths to feed. Others have quiet homes which have suffered loss and grief, but with eyes set on new beginnings. As the clock strikes midnight, you can hear many voices join together, “Should auld acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind…” until the final verse when hands cross and link with one another, “for auld lang syne,” which means “for the sake of old times.”
And then come the knocks on the door. The first-footers have arrived. And at each home a guest has come to visit, crossing the threshold with luck for the new year and gifts for the celebration. For the young and enthusiastic, is brought whiskey for cheer. For the house full of children is brought shortbread for sustenance. And for those with loss is brought a piece of coal to feed the fire and to bring warmth.
This is the tradition of first-footing, from Scotland, where for many years Hogmanay outshone even the celebrations of Christmas. Since learning about it, for the last few years I’ve been captured by its themes of hospitality, community, and hope for new beginnings. There is something beautiful about a guest’s knock on the door. There is something special about a friend crossing the threshold.
That is the image I have in mind as I hear the words of our gospel passage today (John 1:1-18). For like the coming of a guest on New Year’s, there are two comings in this passage. First, there is the coming of creation into existence through the Divine Word, who is Christ. And just as we celebrate the beginning of a new year, in this coming we remember the first beginning—the beginning of the whole cosmos. And at that beginning the Divine Word, himself, stands as a threshold through which we all pass. “All things came into being through him” the passage says. We are those guests who come into the household of God, through God’s own work of creation.
But there is another coming in this passage. The coming of Christmas. While today our minds are turned towards New Year’s, we are still in the season of Christmas. In fact, it is only the 7th day of 12. And so this passage also reminds us of the coming of Christ in the manger, and the reality of the Incarnation, God made flesh—God who dwells among us. Christ is also the guest who comes to the threshold of humanity bearing the gifts of grace upon grace and new life to all who receive him.
But notice, those last words, “to all who receive him.” Because not all of us do. As the passage says, some of us do not receive him. Some of us do not accept him. Perhaps we don’t recognize him. Perhaps we are too busy to notice the knocking at the door. Perhaps we had a different guest in mind. But Christ the First Footer can only enter the homes of those who welcome him in.
Today, we stand at the threshold of a new year, and its the perfect opportunity to reflect upon the year that has past and prepare ourselves for the year to come by intentionally making space for the presence of the Divine in our lives. What are the ways that we will receive Christ into our homes this year? What are the practices which we will engage in order to draw our attention to God’s presence around us? How might we, in our hearts and lives, prepare him room so that heaven and nature may sing? Today is the perfect opportunity to think on those things. This morning and afternoon are the perfect times to set aside a few minutes in prayer and reflection to form a resolution to welcome Christ into our homes each and every day.
On the cusp of a new year, Christ the First Footer stands at the door and knocks. Wherever you are in life, whether you be young and in your prime, hopeful for all that 2024 will bring, whether you be a parent or guardian of children, consumed by the hectic-ness of family life, but fueled by its joy, or whether you be touched by grief and loss, hoping that this new year will bring healing to the pains of this past year, Christ stands at the threshold to your home bearing gifts to bring you hope and new life. Will you receive him? Amen.
Thoughts on Faith 