12 Days of Christmas -
Romans 5:1-11 - Therefore, since we
have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace[a] with God because
of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us.
Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved
privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to
sharing God’s glory.
We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and
trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character,
and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment.
For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to
fill our hearts with his love.
When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the
right time and died for us sinners. Now,
most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone
might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by
sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s
sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s
condemnation. For since our friendship
with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies,
we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new
relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.
The Twelve Days of Christmas began on Christmas Day. It is the span of time that takes us from
Christmas to Epiphany on January 6th. The song, “The Twelve Days of Christmas” is
obviously attached to this yearly period, although almost nothing can be said
for sure about the song’s origins, development, or meanings. Most scholars believe the lyrics were
originally a poem from the 17th or 18th Century. It has been proposed that the poem was a
memory game of sorts played by children.
The song has been sung to at least 68 tunes (you read that right) and
the also all the lyrics have multiple variations in all the many versions of
this song. No one has verifiable proof
of the meaning or significance of the lyrics,
However, in the late
20th century, a theory was proposed that this song was used as a
cryptic catechism for Catholic children at a time and place when practicing
Catholicism was dangerous. There are
multiple versions of this theory and to date, there is no good evidence to
support them. Despite that fact, I
actually like that use of the song because it helps me remember some of the
more important sets of content in our Christian faith. Here’s my favorite version of this pneumonic
device:
Day One – The Partridge – Jesus, the one and only Son of God
Day Two – Two Turtledoves – The Old and New Testaments
Day Three – Three French Hens – Faith Hope & Love
Day Four – Four Calling Birds – Four Gospels (Matthew. Mark,
Luke & John)
Day Five – Five Gold Rings – The Torah (1st Five
Books of the Old Testament)
Day Six – Six Geese a-laying – The six days of active creation
(God rested on the 7th)
Day Seven – Seven Swans a-swimming – 7 gifts of the Holy
Spirit (Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Encouragement , Giving, Leadership, and
Mercy) To be clear, this is not an exhaustive list of the gifts of the
Spirit…for that reason, the seven swans is not my favorite part of the song.
Day Eight – Eight Maids-a-milking – The eight beatitudes
Day Nine – Nine ladies dancing – Nine Fruits of the Spirit
(Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and
Self-Control)
Day Ten – Ten lords-a-leaping – Ten Commandments
Day Eleven – Eleven Pipers Piping – Eleven faithful apostles
(Judas betrayed Jesus)
Day Twelve – Twelve Drummers Drumming – The twelve
tenets/beliefs of the Apostles Creed (I’ll let you count them)
However the song came to be or what it’s meaning was
originally (if it even had an original meaning), I love the to sing it today
because it brings to mind to the beautiful aspects of our faith. Plus, it’s
just a lot of fun (especially if you try to sing it faster with every verse!)
Question: What helps
you keep your faith ever before you?
Prayer: We thank you
God for the greatest gift of Christmas – Jesus. We also thank you for all the
gifts that come from our faith in Jesus.
Amen.
Prayer Focus: Pray
for people you know of other faiths today.
Song: Graham Ross conducts The Choir of Clare College,
Cambridge - 12 days of Christmas
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