{"id":2387,"date":"2012-12-03T13:13:25","date_gmt":"2012-12-03T13:13:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/?p=2387"},"modified":"2012-12-04T15:32:33","modified_gmt":"2012-12-04T15:32:33","slug":"celebrating-advent-in-the-spirit-of-saint-boniface","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/index.php\/celebrating-advent-in-the-spirit-of-saint-boniface\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrating Advent in the Spirit of Saint Boniface"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Ye clouds and darkness, hosts of night
\nThat breed confusion and affright,
\nBegone! o’erhead the dawn shines clear,
\nThe light breaks in and Christ is here.<\/p>\n

Earth’s gloom flees broken and dispersed,
\nBy the sun’s piercing shafts coerced:
\nThe daystar’s eyes rain influence bright
\nAnd colours glimmer back to sight.<\/p>\n

So shall our guilty midnight fade,
\nThe sin-stained heart’s gross dusky shade:
\nSo shall the King’s All-radiant Face
\nSudden unveil our deep disgrace.<\/p>\n

No longer then may we disguise
\nOur dark intents from those clear eyes:
\nYea, at the dayspring’s advent blest
\nOur inmost thoughts will stand confest.<\/p>\n

 <\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/a>So opens the \u2018Morning Hymn\u2019 of the 4th century Christian poet Aurelius Prudentius Clemens. (To read the rest of the poem, click here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Aurelius\u2019 poem captures the spirit of the season we are now celebrating, the season of Advent. The hymn reminds us that in the early church the season of Advent was a time when Christians anticipated Christ\u2019s second coming. (To read about the history of Advent, see the article at the Chuck Colson Center, ‘Cheer Our Spirits by Thine Advent.<\/a>‘) It was a time when they expectantly waited for Him to come and judge the earth, scattering the darkness with His light.<\/p>\n

Boniface\u2019s Challenge to the Powers of Darkness<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The theme of light conquering darkness was the message that Boniface<\/a> took to the ancient Germans in the 8th century.<\/p>\n

When Boniface penetrated into the dark forests of Northern Europe, there was little doubt that he was fighting against the principalities and powers of darkness. As we explain in our brief biography of Boniface<\/a>, this was a time when the power of the occult was very strong. But Boniface knew that the power of Christ was stronger. Not only was Boniface unafraid to challenge these dark powers with the light of Christ, but he relished the opportunity to demonstrate the superior power of Christ.<\/p>\n

As Boniface boldly marched forward to challenge the raw paganism that surrounded him, he may well have taken courage from singing Aurelius\u2019s Advent hymn, especially the first stanza:<\/p>\n

\n

Ye clouds and darkness, hosts of night
\nThat breed confusion and affright,
\nBegone! o’erhead the dawn shines clear,
\nThe light breaks in and Christ is here.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The theme of God judging dark powers with the light of Christ is now largely absent from our Advent celebrations. Yet this theme is implicit in the long forgotten roots of many of our culture\u2019s Advent traditions, including Advent candles and Advent wreaths.<\/p>\n

Interestingly, many people trace both Advent wreaths and Christmas trees back to Boniface. Some of these legends surround the following incident that occurred shortly after Boniface struck down Thor\u2019s sacred oak tree.<\/p>\n

Advent Wreaths and Christmas Trees<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n

On a cold evening in December, a young boy rushed into Boniface\u2019s camp. The lad reported that his 15-year old sister was about to be offered as a vestal sacrifice to the gods of the forest.<\/p>\n

Boniface and a small band of disciples wasted no time. They quickly followed the boy back to the site where the terrible event was about to take place. Not a moment too early, they entered the grove just in time to see the witch doctor raising his stone knife.<\/p>\n

As the blade began its downwards descent towards the breasts of the young maiden, Boniface hurled himself forward, simultaneously knocking over the priest and receiving on himself the blow of the knife. Providentially, the knife embedded itself in a small wooden cross that Boniface was wearing around his person. The cross was pierced in two but the missionary\u2019s life was preserved.<\/p>\n

Even as the stunned witch doctor shrieked curses at the monk, Boniface turned towards the spectators and began telling of an ultimate sacrifice that had already been offered. According to some of the legends, Boniface used the druid\u2019s knife to cut down fir boughs, even as he preached to the crowd about Christ\u2019s finished work on the tree of Cavalry. Because the light of Christ had defeated the darkness of death, Boniface explained, there was no longer any need for additional sacrifices. Since God had judged and defeated the dark powers, it was futile to pay homage to them.<\/p>\n

As he spoke, Boniface passed out pieces of the fir boughs he was cutting down, and urged the onlookers to tie them into wreaths as a memorial of the provision achieved by Christ. Legend has it that this occurred on the first Sunday in Advent and that this was the origin of Advent wreaths.<\/p>\n

This was significant, because at the time wreaths had been used to appease the sun god during the period of his winter hiding. As the Chapel Hill Presbyterian<\/a> church explained, \u201cThey would take a cart wheel, wound with greens and decorated with lights, string them up in the halls of the tribes of northern Europe and whirl them on Winter Solstice. The pagans in essence would \u2018sacrifice\u2019 the use of a cart wheel and ponder the blessings of light and life and implored the sun god to return to them.\u201d Boniface invested the wreath with a new meaning, using it as a reminder of Christ\u2019s victory. No longer would the wreath symbolize the idolatry of paganism,, but the glory of Christ’s victory over the grave.<\/p>\n

The Christmas tree, it is said, also owes its origins to Boniface. According to one set of legends narrated here<\/a>, Boniface gave the balsam fir tree to the Druids in place of the oak tree, the symbol of their idol. He said, \u2018The fir tree is the wood of peace, the sign of an endless life with its evergreen branches. It points to heaven. It will never shelter deeds of blood, but rather be filled with loving gifts and rites of kindness.\u2019<\/p>\n

Stephen Mansfield tells us<\/a> how Martin Luther, familiar with these legends, attached importance to the Christmas tree in honour of Boniface’s “conquering of Germany for Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n

To read more about Boniface and other Christian heroes, check out our page of spiritual biographies<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Find out how to join Christian Voice and stand up for the King of kings (clicking on the link below does not commit you to join)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Please note that persons wishing to comment on this story must enter a valid email address. Comments from persons leaving fictitious email addresses will be trashed.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ye clouds and darkness, hosts of night That breed confusion and affright, Begone! o’erhead the dawn shines clear, The light breaks in and Christ is here. Earth’s gloom flees broken and dispersed, By the sun’s piercing shafts coerced: The daystar’s eyes rain influence bright And colours glimmer back to sight. So shall our guilty midnight […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[230],"tags":[233,221],"class_list":["post-2387","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-anniversaries","tag-advent","tag-boniface"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t