Eddi’s Service<\/em>, by Rudyard Kipling<\/p>\n(A.D. 687)<\/p>\n
Eddi, priest of St. Wilfrid
\nIn his chapel at Manhood End,
\nOrdered a midnight service
\nFor such as cared to attend.<\/p>\n
But the Saxons were keeping Christmas,
\nAnd the night was stormy as well.
\nNobody came to service,
\nThough Eddi rang the bell.<\/p>\n
“Wicked weather for walking,”
\nSaid Eddi of Manhood End.
\n“But I must go on with the service
\nFor such as care to attend.”<\/p>\n
The altar-lamps were lighted —
\nAn old marsh-donkey came,
\nBold as a guest invited,
\nAnd stared at the guttering flame.<\/p>\n
The storm beat on at the windows,
\nThe water splashed on the floor,
\nAnd a wet, yoke-weary bullock
\nPushed in through the open door.<\/p>\n
“How do I know what is greatest,
\nHow do I know what is least?
\nThat is My Father’s business,”
\nSaid Eddi, Wilfrid’s priest.<\/p>\n
“But — three are gathered together —
\nListen to me and attend.
\nI bring good news, my brethren!”
\nSaid Eddi of Manhood End.<\/p>\n
And he told the Ox of a Manger
\nAnd a Stall in Bethlehem,
\nAnd he spoke to the Ass of a Rider,
\nThat rode to Jerusalem.<\/p>\n
They steamed and dripped in the chancel,
\nThey listened and never stirred,
\nWhile, just as though they were Bishops,
\nEddi preached them The Word.<\/p>\n
Till the gale blew off on the marshes
\nAnd the windows showed the day,
\nAnd the Ox and the Ass together
\nWheeled and clattered away.<\/p>\n
And when the Saxons mocked him,
\nSaid Eddi of Manhood End,
\n“I dare not shut His chapel
\nOn such as care to attend.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This is my favorite Christmas poem. It’s funny, and bittersweet, and captures very well, I think, the transcendent point of the humble event at the heart of this holiday, a point powerfully expressed in the carol “In the Bleak Midwinter” when we sing: What can I give Him \/ Poor as I am? If I were a shepherd \/ I would give a lamb. If I were a wise man \/ I would do my part; Yet what I can I give Him: \/ Give my heart. That is, we give whatever we can, to whomever we can. He will always receive it (Matt. 25:40). Also, as someone who grew up on a farm and milked cows on many Christmas Eves and Christmas mornings, I appreciate the reverence of the animals in the poem; for of course, as we all know, at midnight on Christmas Eve all animals can talk. Enjoy, and to all my fellow Times and Seasoners, and everyone else who visits this site, have a merry and blessed Christmas holiday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-227","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-corn"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=227"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=227"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=227"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesandseasons.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=227"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}