Episcopal Church Foundation Vestry Papers - for leading congregations

We greened the church yesterday.

An afternoon of draping fresh-cut evergreen boughs from pillar to pillar, arch to arch, inspired me to draft “greened” into service as a transitive verb.

It occurs to me that our celebration of Christmas should be like a transitive verb. For Strunk & White aficionados, this needs no further explanation. For others, a transitive verb requires both a subject – and a direct object.

We shouldn’t just celebrate. (A subject and verb, but no direct object). 

Rather, we celebrate the birth of Christ. (A subject, transitive verb and direct object). 

As Christians, there is always a direct object to who we are. The object of our desire is Christ. The service that we perform is for our neighbor. The love that we have is shared with others. 

Christ’s birth wasn’t an accident. He was incarnated for all of humanity – for us, the direct object of his affection. 

And Christ didn’t just die (an intransitive verb). His death bore new life. 

Greening the church makes me feel like Christmas is near, and I’m ready to don the red and white sweaters and exchange presents with co-workers. But the greening of the church is not about making me feel like Christmas. It’s about reminding the world that Christ’s light shines in the darkness. That in the cold and barren landscape of winter, life springs forth, new life of a child in a manger, God made manifest among ordinary people. 

The birth of a child transforms the world. An excellent use of a transitive verb.