St Augustine writes concerning Christmas:
“So, brothers and sisters, let us keep this day as a festival—not, like the unbelievers, because of the sun up there in the sky, but because of the One who made that sun.”
The one who made that sun is the Word made flesh. That Word above all earthly powers is the one who sustains our joy. The prophetic word, as Hebrews tells us, leads us to the Final Word. In the same manner, the prophetic word of preaching leads us to the Word in bread and wine. For in this table, the gospel/word is given and we are called to eat of it. But we eat differently than unbelievers, we eat and drink by faith alone for we know that only one true Word made the sun and only one true Word can nourish our bodies and souls.
