“Saturdays are for Newspaper Articles”
April 26, 2008
Note: I almost forgot to post again today. We have been having a “prep” session with a lawyer since mid-morning to serve as character witnesses in a trial in which a lady in our church is trying to adopt her niece versus the hyper-control of the Comal County, TX, Child Protective Services office (which, in this case, has chosen, from the very outset, not to abide by many of their own protocols strictly and only to deny a Christian family member this child–a very sad case of “governmental bias,” as far as I can tell). Please understand that I do not mean this as a blanket indictment of Texas CPS. I have not dealt with any other county offices but this one.
“A ‘Red-Letter Day’”
I have heard the phrase “red-letter day” all my life. However, I had never followed up the origin of the wording… until just before writing this article. And, maybe, just maybe, you are as much in the dark about where “red-letter day” came from as I was.
Starting with the First Council of Nicea in 325 A.D., church calendars began to list feasts and other holy days in red ink. That practice continued throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance period. But, it was when the holy days were listed in red ink in the Book of Common Prayer of the Anglican Church in 1549 that the wording “red-letter day” began to be used more regularly.
In case you have not noticed, the practice of putting Sundays and at least certain religious holidays in red on calendars is still quite common today. And, it is not limited to calendars. My watch has a calendar and the abbreviation for Sunday is in red.
Why have I brought up the subject of “a red-letter day” now? Because Sunday, April 20, was “a red-letter day” for Comal Country Church. But, you ask, since it was not Easter or Christmas, or even Mother’s Day or Father’s Day, what could possibly set apart that Sunday from any of the rest?
Well, what happened was that we baptized five youngsters, ranging from six to 12, in the Guadalupe River. And, in my mind, that makes Sunday, April 20, a different kind of “red-letter day.”
What am I talking about? Before I did my research on the origin of “red-letter day,” I wondered if it did not derive from the fact that many Bibles have the words of Jesus Christ printed in red letters. That practice, of course, comes from the idea that, since Jesus is God become man, our Savior and Lord, His words recorded in Scripture should be given special honor (i.e., red ink, as opposed to everything else being in regular blank ink).
So, how does that support the idea that April 20 and the baptism of these five children make for “a red-letter day?” First, the most foundational reason that Christians baptize is because Christ commanded it in these words (in red ink in many Bibles) of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20): “baptizing them in the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit” (verse 19). Second, Jesus also said (again, in red ink): “I assure you… unless you are converted and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3).
There’s my logic, whether you agree with me or not. April 20 was “a red-letter day” for Comal Country Church because, in obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ: 1) those five children were baptized, just as Christ commanded in red letters; and 2) those children all exhibited the beautiful “childlike faith” that Christ commended in red letters.
In closing, I think there may well have been another reason why it was “a red-letter day” for our church: the adults were all reminded of the wonder of a child first coming to know Christ by faith. It is easy to forget, even to become a bit cynical, after you have been a Christian for many years. But, the Lord Jesus wants believers never to get beyond childlike faith. He even goes so far as to say: “Therefore, he who humbles himself like a child, that one is greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:4). Let that sink in on you for a while.
Coming Monday: “A Further Look at 1 Corinthians 14:26-33a”
