Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. (Matthew 2:11 ESV)
The Twelve Days of Christmas (and Jesus Can)
I know, the twelve days of Christmas actually BEGIN on the 25th of December, and last until the celebration of the Epiphone on the 5th of January. But we are going to examine those 12 days, as presented in the well-known song, The Twelve Days of Christmas, starting tomorrow. For two reasons, really. First, I did not think of it until this morning. Second, these days are not Biblically commanded holidays, and we can think and talk about them any time it works for us!
There are stories about the song, Twelve Days. Stories that describe how during times of political and religious oppression, this song was used by wandering bards to give the gospel message in a hidden yet delightfully open manner. Stories that claim that the song is a careful presentation of the most important 12 teachings of the Bible. Stories that examine the symbolism of numbers in the Bible and how some numbers relate to the mystery of the Incarnation that we celebrate at Christmas.
I am personally not sure of the veracity of some of those stories.
But on reflection, each of the twelve days in the song have a valuable, encouraging, and challenging message that is particularly found at this time of year.
So for the next twelve days, that is what we will try to examine.
And it will be easier than you might think. Because the centrality of Christ Jesus in every truth will give us our common thread.
We can not always make sense of mysteries, patterns, and ideas. But Jesus can.