Today is St. Stephen’s day. Stephen was one of the first seven deacons appointed by the apostles and the first Christian to be martyred for his faith. I’m not sure how the day of his commemoration ended up smack in the middle of Christmas, but so it is.

However, the Feast of St. Stephen, is a neat time for singing the sort-of Christmas carol, “Good King Wenceslas.”

Good King Wenceslas looked out,
on the Feast of Stephen,
When the snow lay round about,
deep and crisp and even;
. . . . . . . . . . .
When a poor man came in sight,
gath’ring winter fuel.

The carol was written by Anglican priest John Mason Neale based on a legend about the 10th century saint Wenceslas, Duke of Bohemia. He set his words to a 13th century Spring carol. Most music scholars hate this carol, but I think it is great fun with its dialog between Wenceslas and his page as they go out in the snow to bring food, and wine, and logs to a poor man. It also has the hint of a miracle as the struggling page gains the strength to follow the monarch by walking in his footstep. I love the message:

Ye who now will bless the poor,
shall yourselves find blessing.

It’s important that we keep poor in our minds and we do what we can to help them, and not just at Christmas time, but at all times.

Here’s a version of the carol, and I didn’t know either that he did any Christmas songs other than “White Christmas.”

Read Acts 7:55-56  and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Wayne