Christian Charity

Homily for the Feast of St. Stephen

December 26 is known by several names. It is the feast of St. Stephen, deacon and protomartyr. It is also known as the second day of Christmas. In addition, in times past, this day has been known as Boxing Day. There is a relationship between the feast of St. Stephen and Boxing Day – the virtue of charity.

Boxing Day, still celebrated in some cultures today, was the day on which the affluent people boxed up the leftovers from their Christmas feast and gave them to the poor. Unfortunately, in our own culture, it has become a day on which many will seek bargains in the stores while others will return gifts. The notion of helping the poor on this day has gotten lost in this more commercial attitude.

We also remember that the feast of St. Stephen is mentioned in a familiar Christmas Carol; namely, good King Wenceslas. This song tells the tale of Wenceslas and his page encountering a poor man as they trudge through the snow. When the page identifies the poor man, Wenceslaus immediately tells his page to bring flesh, wine, and pine logs to satisfy the poor man’s hunger and to provide him with a source of warmth. Remarkably, though the hymn is called a Christmas Carol, there is no mention of the Nativity, of Christmas, or God. The last verse of this Carol provides us with appropriate Christmas thoughts. Therefore, Christian men, be sure, wealth or rank possessing, Ye who now will bless the poor, shall yourselves find blessing.

Wenceslas was of Bohemian nobleman. Boxing Day was more prominent in the United Kingdom. Consequently, there may be no relationship between the charity shown by this nobleman and the charity that underlies the gift of providing the poor with food from the previous day’s Christmas meal. However, we must also remember that St. Stephen was among the first seven deacons of the church who were set aside to serve the needs of the Greek widows in the early Christian community. They were to wait on the tables of the widows and see to it that the alms were equally divided between the Jew and the Greek widows.

Christian charity is what binds all of this together. As we reflect on the blessings we have received through the feast of the Nativity of our Lord Jesus, let us remember that we have been lavished with God’s love for us as the Word made flesh.