The Upload
Posted on Jan 01, 2016 by
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
I pray you had a Merry Christmas.
Well first I want to thank my wife, Jill for helping me out the past couple of weeks. I hope you enjoyed her notes with news from Salem as much as I did. And secondly, I just want to say that I pray you all had a very blessed and merry Christmas.
I don’t know about you, but I find it hard to believe that Christmas is once again over. With all the hype in the retail stores and several month long commercial build to Christmas, when it is over, it can seem like such a let down. But, the truth is, Christmas isn’t over. Yes, December 25 is over, but the Season of Christmas is actually twelve days long; remember the song The Twelve Days of Christmas? Christmas actually begins on Christmas Day, December 25, and ends on January 5 every year.
Speaking of the song, The Twelve Days of Christmas, I used to think it was just a silly, non-sensical song but when I was in seminary, I learned that it was an English song published in 1780 at a time when the Catholic Church was being persecuted by the Church of England. It was illegal at that time to practice the Catholic faith. So as a way to teach children, and adults, about the faith, this song was written with each gift in the song having a hidden meaning. So, for example, the "true love" mentioned in the song doesn't refer to a human, it refers to God Himself. The "me" who receives the presents refers to every baptized person. The partridge in a pear tree is Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Accordingly, the other presents represent the following:
2 Turtle Doves = The Old and New Testaments
3 French Hens = Faith, Hope and Charity
4 Calling Birds = the Four Gospels and/or the Four Evangelists
5 Golden Rings = The first Five Books of the Old Testament, the "Pentateuch
6 Geese A-laying = the six days of creation
7 Swans A-swimming = the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit
8 Maids A-milking = the eight beatitudes
9 Ladies Dancing = the nine Fruits of the Holy Spirit
10 Lords A-leaping = the Ten Commandments
11 Pipers Piping = the eleven faithful apostles
12 Drummers Drumming = the twelve points of doctrine in the Apostle's Creed
Now there are other interpretations of this song and no one really seems to know if the author really meant for these Christian meanings, but for me, I like them and so when I hear this song, I am reminded that Christmas is really about Christ, not the presents I received under the tree. Christmas is about a God that loved me, and you, so much that our God came to live among us, Immanuel.
I pray you, too, had a merry Christmas and that this New Year will be one filled with many blessings for you and all of yours.
Have a blessed week and a Happy New Year!
Shalom,
Pr. Dave