Patrick Comerford
On the ninth day of Christmas my true love sent to me … ‘nine ladies dancing, eight maids a-milking, seven swans a-swimming, six geese a-laying, five golden rings, four colly birds, three French hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree’.
I recently heard these days after Christmas as ‘Betwixtmas’, but we are still in the season of Christmas. The Calendar of the Church of England in Common Worship today (2 January) remembers Saint Basil the Great (379) and Saint Gregory of Nazianzus (389), Bishops and Teachers of the Faith; Saint Seraphim (1833), Monk of Sarov and Spiritual Guide; and Vedanayagam Samuel Azariah (1945), Bishop in South India and Evangelist.
Before today begins, I am taking some quiet time this morning to give thanks, to reflect, to pray and to read in these ways:
1, today’s Gospel reading;
2, a short reflection;
3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary;
4, the Collects and Post-Communion prayer of the day.
John 1: 19-28 (NRSVA):
19 This is the testimony given by John when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, ‘Who are you?’ 20 He confessed and did not deny it, but confessed, ‘I am not the Messiah.’ 21 And they asked him, ‘What then? Are you Elijah?’ He said, ‘I am not.’ ‘Are you the prophet?’ He answered, ‘No.’ 22 Then they said to him, ‘Who are you? Let us have an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?’ 23 He said,
‘I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness,
“Make straight the way of the Lord”,’
as the prophet Isaiah said.
24 Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. 25 They asked him, ‘Why then are you baptizing if you are neither the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the prophet?’ 26 John answered them, ‘I baptize with water. Among you stands one whom you do not know, 27 the one who is coming after me; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandal.’ 28 This took place in Bethany across the Jordan where John was baptizing.
Today’s Reflections:
The Christian interpretation of the song ‘The 12 Days of Christmas’ often sees the nine ladies dancing as figurative representations of the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit:
• Love,
• Joy,
• Peace,
• Patience,
• Kindness,
• Goodness,
• Faithfulness,
• Gentleness,
• Self-control
(see Galatians 5: 19-23).
In a sermon in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, many years ago, my late friend the Revd Robert Lawson listed the ten most popular New Year’s resolutions as:
1, Stop smoking.
2, Get fit.
3, Lose weight.
4, Enjoy life more.
5, Quit drinking.
6, Organise myself.
7, Learn something new.
8, Get out of debt.
9, Spend more time with family.
10, Help people.
Which of these gifts of the Holy Spirit do you value most? Which of these gifts of the Holy Spirit do I feel most lacking in me at this stage in my life? Which of these New Year’s resolutions did you make this year?
And how many of these New Year’s resolutions have I made in the past and never managed to keep – even beyond this first week in January?
If you were a speech writer for Saint John the Baptist, what words would you like to hear from ‘the voice of one crying out in the wilderness’ in the face of the many, complex problems the world faces in the coming year?
In the opening verses of his Gospel, Saint John tells us, that the Word, the logos – in other words, what God says, God in action, creating, revealing and redeeming – exists before all time. He is the force behind all that exists; he causes physical and spiritual life to be; life, goodness, light, overcomes all evil. Jesus, the ‘light’ (John 1: 7), took on being human through God, and is the force for goodness, light, godliness, for all people.
He tells too of John the Baptist, who is sent or commissioned by God to point to Christ, to ‘testify to the light’ (verse 7). John is the lamp that illumines the way, but Christ is the light (verse 8). When the religious authorities (verse 19) send their representatives, priests and Levites, to assess John’s authenticity as a religious figure, John tells them that he is neither of the two figures they are expecting to come to earth: he is neither ‘the Messiah’ (verse 20) nor the returned ‘Elijah’ (verse 21). At the time, pious Jews believed that one or both would establish a kingdom on earth that would be free of Roman domination.
Neither is John the prophet some expected would be instrumental in establishing the Messiah’s kingdom. Saint John says simply that he is the one who prepares ‘the way of the Lord’ (verse 23), who announces the Messiah’s coming, fulfilling the promise in Isaiah 40: 3.
The representatives of the Pharisees ask John (verse 25) why he is performing an official rite without official status. John tells them that the one to whom he points is already on earth. He is so great that for his part John protests he is not even worthy to be his slave.
Have you noticed the interesting setting for all this story?
It all takes place outside Israel (see verse 28).
Many years ago, when I was recording a television programme for Joe Duffy’s Spirit Level for RTÉ in 2014, I was part of a panel of four, and in the test run beforehand, each of us was asked how to be addressed, and for titles for the on-screen captions.
We can become very precious about our titles in the Church … ‘Reverend’ … ‘Very Reverend’ … ‘Right Revd’ … Canon … Professor … Dr … Dean … Archdeacon … Your Grace … My Lord … and so on.
I suppose, in terms of respect for the office, or in terms of shorthand descriptions of someone’s function in the Church, they serve a purpose. But respect is not a right, it must be earned, and when we start standing on our dignity, taking ourselves too seriously, something has gone wrong.
I figure if I am known to God by the name I was baptised with, Patrick, then all Christians should feel perfectly comfortable in calling me that.
And in terms of office, I should never forget that I too am one of the laos, the People of God, by virtue of my baptism, and that I remain a deacon, someone who was first ordained to serve.
Meanwhile, as the Orthodox Church commemorated Saint Basil yesterday (1 January) and the Church of England remembers him today, I am reminded that Saint Basil the Great was one of the three Great Cappadocian Fathers, alongside his brother Saint Gregory of Nyssa and the their close friend Gregory of Nazianzus.
And as I think of both Saint Basil and of those nine dancers in Cappadocia who illustrate this posting, and of the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit, I am reminded of how the values of Saint Basil challenge the priorities expressed in any of the New Year’s resolutions we may make: ‘The bread which you do not use is the bread of the hungry; the garment hanging in your wardrobe is the garment of him who is naked; the shoes that you do not wear are the shoes of the one who is barefoot; the money that you keep locked away is the money of the poor; the acts of charity that you do not perform are so many injustices that you commit.’
Would I be recognised as a Christian not for the titles, honours and names the church and society give me but for living showing the fruits of the Spirit by living out values such as these?
Today’s Prayers (Friday 2 January 2026):
The theme this week (28 December 2025 to 3 January 2026) in Pray with the World Church, the prayer diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), is ‘Mother and Child’ (pp 14-15). This theme was introduced last Sunday with a Programme Update by Imran Englefield, Individual Giving Manager, USPG.
The USPG Prayer Diary today (Friday 2 January 2026) invites us to pray:
Merciful God, we pray for those who are struggling with loss, illness, or fear. Surround them with your comfort, and help them look forward with hope, trusting in your care.
The Collect:
Lord God, whose servants Basil and Gregory
proclaimed the mystery of your Word made flesh,
to build up your Church in wisdom and strength:
grant that we may rejoice in his presence among us,
and so be brought with them to know the power
of your unending love;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
The Post-Communion Prayer:
God of truth,
whose Wisdom set her table
and invited us to eat the bread and drink the wine
of the kingdom:
help us to lay aside all foolishness
and to live and walk in the way of insight,
that we may come with Basil and Gregory to the eternal feast of heaven;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Yesterday’s Reflections
Continued Tomorrow
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org