A Bundle of Myrrh

November 11th is the commemoration of St. Martin of Tours.

“Today we commemorate St. Martin of Tours (after whom Martin Luther was named, having been baptized on this day in 1483) who was born in Hungary, lived in northern Italy, and served as an orthodox defender of the Nicene Creed in southern France during the fourth century.  As a youth he was enamored with the Christian message, a cause of separation from his pagan parents.  As a young man in the Roman army (cavalry) he could have advanced in society, but leaned toward pacifism and so eventually left that calling in the military and pursued poverty, care for the poor, and defense of the faith.  Martin wanted to be a soldier for Christ, the Prince of Peace.”  Rev. Matthew Johnson

This is a fun celebration for us and very appropriate to remember a soldier on our country’s Veterans Day. We also got our first blast of some very cold weather and snow which was also very fitting for this day since one story of  St. Martin is of him stopping on the road to give half of his cloak to a beggar freezing in the wind and snow. I think another thing about this commemoration that I love is it’s tie to Germany where this is apparently a big deal and includes a bonfire at the end of the lantern walk. Having spent some years of my childhood in Germany I have a soft spot in my insides for things German.

For breakfast I made chocolate chip muffins, or “Beggars Wrapped in Cloaks.” Also, for the past few years I’ve made what I call “Horseshoe Cookies” (with pecans instead of almonds) and now really look forward to these. They’re perfect with a cup of coffee or hot chocolate.

I also like to use this day to give the babies something warm they might need in their wardrobe. Esther got a new bath robe, the girls needed new mittens and of course I had to give the boys something too. Don’t tell Ephraim that I just pulled a scarf out of the drawer for him!

And then came the best part of this day, our lantern walk. We made paper lanterns with battery lights inside and walked over to our neighbors’ house to sing and she was so kind to have little treat bags made up for them! We decided to go before supper since we had a lot going on after, so the lanterns weren’t as bright but it was still fun for them.

I walk with my little lantern,
And my little lantern with me
There above, the stars shine,
And we shine here below.
Oh Lantern light,
Oh Don’t go out.
Rabimmel, rabammel, rabum.

I walk with my little lantern,
And my little lantern with me.
There above, the stars shine,
And we shine here below.
St. Martin marches forward.
Rabammel – rabommel – rabumm!

Here’s another St. Martin’s Day song we enjoy.

Before the babies went walking I spoke to them about being lights in the dark world, about Jesus being the Light of the World and told them to think of those who might not have had coats or shelter on such a cold night.

This commemoration is a great time to pray for soldiers and their families, for the homeless and for boldness to be lights in darkness.

*PS – ‘Scuse the booty shot you might have noticed! I’ll leave those little buns anonymous.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 12th, 2014 at 2:44 pm and is filed under Church Year. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.