December 2025
Spirit of the Eagle
St. John the Evangelist ACC
Spiritual Tidbits & Rector’s Reflections for
December 2025 from Father Tim
Fall is closing quickly and Winter will arrive soon (21st). ’Tis the season of December as we find ourselves in Advent. This month contains the three remaining Sundays of Advent (7th, 14th, & 21st). The fourth Sunday, the 28th, falls on Holy Innocents. The Vigil of the Nativity, Christmas Eve, on the 24th, The Nativity of our Lord on the 25th, and several Days of Obligation such as S. Andrew, AP. & M. (1st), S. Thomas, AP. & M.(22nd), S. Stephen, Protomartyr (26th), and S. John, AP. & EV. (27th) make December a very holy month. In addition to all of the above, the Conception, B.V.M. on the 8th and the three Ember Days (17th, 19th, & 20th) make it a busy month if you follow the Ordo Kalendar. Holy Communion is a corporate act, thus we kneel together after reception and say the Prayer of Thanksgiving together as “very members incorporate in the mystical body of thy Son”. We say this prayer as a parish, as well as with the whole Church (militant, expectant, & triumphant). Saint John Chrysostom suggests that after Holy Communion we should ‘retire into a quiet place’ and ‘reflect attentively upon the great honour’ that God has given us, in coming to us in this Sacrament, this Holy Mystery. Many times our best prayer will simply be a deep silence of love, confidence, and repose. Anglican Canon T.T. Carter (1808-1901) once wrote: ‘His Presence in this divine manifestation is most wonderfully marked by repose and silence. The Blessed Sacrament is the very centre of rest, the secret shrine of quietness. . . . Nowhere on earth do we feel so still and calm. . . . This should mark our life, for, as we receive our Lord, we receive Him in this same calmness. We are conformed to Him in proportion as our lives grow in quietness. . . . Even amid all that outwardly disturbs us, He is our Peace, sustaining our whole being. For He so tempers His approach, so veils His Majesty, that the Divine Communion becomes the gentlest, the tenderest, the most perfectly restful hour of our life.’ It is out of such quietness that courage is born. The Advent Season has arrived, followed closely by that silent night, holy night. God bless you this most holy season. ~ Father Tim
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Do you know someone who is overcome by worry, arguments, and controversy? If yes, please invite them to church this December, where they can reflect on the Holy Mysteries, overcome the noise of the world, and go forth in the strength of God to do His will. ~ Father Tim
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Prayer is the key which unlocks the door of God’s treasure-house. It is not too much to say that all real growth in the spiritual life – all victory over temptation, all confidence and peace in the presence of difficulties and dangers, all repose of spirit in times of great disappointment or loss, all habitual communion with God – depend upon the practice of secret prayer. ~ Unknown Author
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Do you know?
Do you know Saint John’s has begun the process of being listed on the National Register of Historic Places? Do you know our Book of Life Club will be The Idea of the Holy, by Rudolph Otto? Do you know that Saint John’s made a charitable donation to the Dayton KY Schools Family Resource Center in November? Do you know the restoration of the stained glass above the altar will begin soon?
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Saint John December Ordo Kalendar
Wednesday, the 3rd of December, at 6:30 PM, Evening Prayer
Sunday, the 7th of Dec., at 10:30 AM, Advent II Mass, S. Nicholas visit
Wednesday, the 10th of December, at 6:30 PM, Evening Prayer
Sunday, the 14th of December, at 10:30 AM, Advent III Mass
Sunday, the 14th of December, at 12:00 PM, Rule of Faith Meeting
Wed., the 17th of Dec., at 6:30 PM, Evening Prayer, Ember Wednesday
Saturday, the 20th of December, at 9:00 AM, Morning Prayer
Sat., the 20th of Dec., at 9:45 AM, Book of Life Club, Activity TBD
Sunday, the 21st of December, at 10:30 AM, Advent IV Mass
Wednesday, the 24th of December, at 4:30 PM, Nine Lessons & Carols
Wednesday, the 24th of December, at 5:30 PM, Vigil of the Nativity Mass
Thursday, the 25th of December, at 10:30 AM, Nativity of our Lord Mass
Sun., the 28th of December, at 10:30 AM, Holy Innocents Mass
Wednesday, the 31st of December, at 6:30 PM, Evening Prayer
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Are not our prayers so often ineffective and powerless – and sometimes even prayerless – because we rush unthinkingly and unpreparedly into God’s presence, without realizing the majesty and glory of the God Whom we are approaching, and without reflecting upon the exceeding great riches of His glory in Christ Jesus, which we hope to draw upon? ~ Unknown Author
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December Birthdays & Anniversaries
Judy Evans – Birthday – December 1
Coraline Parker Bock – Birthday – December 3
Jim Barnett – Birthday – December 3
Fr. Timothy Butler – Birthday – December 4
John Timothy Maycock – Birthday – December 5
Paige Bock – Birthday – December 17
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Why should we want to worship Jesus well?
The name Emmanuel takes in the whole mystery. Jesus is “God with us.” He had a nature like our own in all things, sin only excepted. But though Jesus was “with us” in human flesh and blood, He was at the same time very God. ~ J.C. Ryle, 1816-1900, Anglican Bishop of Liverpool
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He is the King of kings, the radiance of His glory, the Lord of the spaceless, fabulous, infinite universe, omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, unspeakable holy, dwelling in light, unapproachable, changeless … and yet He condescended to be enclosed in lowly human flesh, to be born a despised Judean, in a filthy stable, in the womb of a simple Israeli woman and without fanfare or pomp. Remaining what He was He became what He was not. ~ Unknown Author
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A little humor for the 2025 Shopping Season
It was Christmas time, and the judge was feeling a little benevolent and filled with holiday spirit. “What exactly is the charge?” he asked counsel. “The man standing before you is charged with doing his Christmas shopping early.” “Shopping early?” the judge replied. “Well, what’s wrong with that?” The prosecutor replied, “He was doing his shopping before the stores were open.”
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Feast, Christians, feast; you have a right to feast… But in your feasting, think of the Man in Bethlehem. Let Him have a place in your hearts, give Him the glory, think of the virgin who conceived Him, but think most of all of the Man born, the Child given. I finish by again saying, A happy Christmas to you all! ~ C.H. Spurgeon, 1834-1892, English ‘Prince of Preachers’
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Incarnation of God the Son
We are now in Advent Season! At last, we come to one of the most joyous times in the liturgical calendar. What we are preparing to celebrate at this time is, of course, the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. But more broadly, at this time we focus on the Incarnation of God the Son; God made man. The claim of the Incarnation is that the second person of the Trinity, the Son, took on human nature “and was made man” as we say in the Nicene Creed. To say the Incarnation changes everything is an understatement, but what may be easy to miss are the implications it can have for sharing our faith in a dark world. Isaiah 9:2 says “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined.” Now, the New Testament never actually quotes this to talk about Jesus’ birth, but rather his ministry (Matt. 4:15-16; I have my thoughts about what St. Matthew was doing there, but that’s not the point here). The point is that the Incarnation is light in a dark world, and so even though Is. 9:2 is not a “birth” passage per se, it is an Incarnation passage. And as I look around, I see a lot of people walking in darkness.
I mentioned last month that one may raise a philosophical objection of evil or suffering, but actually be motivated by their own pain. What the Incarnation means for all the pain and suffering we go through is that we serve a God that, out of his goodness, has entered into it all. Through becoming man, God the Son knows what it is like to experience loss, pain, etc. Our God is not aloof from creation as in deism, where he created and is now just watching the show. Hebrews 4:15 says “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” (See also Heb. 2:14-18.) In short, God knows, experientially, the human condition. That certainly changes things; God is not far from us, but is rather intimately involved in the affairs of creation. St. Athanasius, in his excellent On the Incarnation does not begin his discussion with the birth of Jesus, but rather with the creation of the world, because that, combined with God’s goodness, means that God has made quite the investment in us. (Which, if you would like to discuss or at least hear about this lovely text, stick around after Mass on Advent III, as it is the Rule of Faith read this month.) We are not left to ourselves, but rather we have a High Priest who presently intercedes for us, and who in his sojourn took on and healed our infirmities (Matthew 8:16-17). As St. Gregory of Nyssa put it, “For our infirm nature stood in need of a healer, man in the fall stood in need of someone to set him upright, he who was deprived of life stood in need of the giver of life…” (Cat. Disc. 15.3).
The Incarnation thus gives us profound resources with which to answer the pain that people have. The benefits of the Good News of the Kingdom of God is that this healing can be ours if we will come to him with our pain. So if you are ever in conversation with someone that is walking in darkness and is in need of great light, you can tell them that God is with us, and invite them to Church this Advent season. ~ Chris Stockman
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He was created by a mother whom He created. He was carried by hands that He formed. He cried in the manger in wordless infancy, He the Word, without whom all human eloquence is mute. ~ S. Augustine, 354-430 AD, Theologian, Philosopher, & Bishop of Hippo Regius
How many observe Christ’s birthday and how few His precepts. It is easier to keep holidays than holy ways. ~ Unknown Author
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The seeking of Jesus Christ and the quest for chivalry combined lead directly to one place only: Anglican-Catholicism. Courage, honor, courtesy, justice, and a readiness to help and defend the weak and the poor. Welcome to the Anglican Catholic Church. ~ Father Timothy Butler