NOVEMBER 14-15
“For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulders. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” - Isaiah 9:6
A few minutes ago local TV coverage showed the start of the usual shopping frenzy - Christmas is on the door-step, so I thought we would have a little foretaste. I came across the following article about the meaning of the song lyrics, 'The Twelve Days of Christmas,' and thought you too, would find it interesting. I don't know who wrote it. If you do, please get in touch and pass it on, I would love to know.
Many historians believe the well-known song 'The Twelve Days of Christmas' is actually a Christian hymn in disguise. During the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, a staunch Protestant, Catholics were oppressed and persecuted. Small groups of Catholic priests risked their lives to conduct worship and observe their mass. Under such circumstances it was difficult to train or teach their children. But an unknown, clever priest found a unique way of teaching the Gospel, using the twelve days between Christmas and Epiphany, when the Wise Men, according to tradition, arrived with their gifts for the Christ-child.
The priest hid biblical truth in the symbols he used in his carol, beginning with the words “On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me....” The “true love” referred to God, the Father, and the “me” represents the Christian who receives the gifts. “The partridge in the pear tree” is Jesus. Why a partridge? Mother partridges are known to feign injury to decoy predators from their babies. The children were thereby taught about Christ's sacrifice on our behalf.
The “two turtle doves” represent the Old and New Testaments – while the “three French hens” symbolised faith, hope and love. - the three great virtues we should all display as we come to know Christ as Lord, as depicted in the Old and New Testaments. The other symbols?
“Four calling birds” - the four Gospels.
“Five gold rings” - the first five books of the Bible, the Pentateuch.
“Six geese a-laying” - the six days of Creation.
“Seven swans a-swimming” - the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit.
“Eight maids a- milking” - the eight Beatitudes of Matthew 5.
“Nine ladies dancing” - nine choirs of angels.
“Ten lords a-leaping” - the Ten Commandments.
“Eleven pipers piping” - the eleven faithful apostles.
“Twelve drummers drumming” - the twelve articles of the Apostles Creed.
We are so blessed that today, we can freely, and openly, study God's Word with our children and teach them the story of their salvation – the true meaning of Christmas beyond the tinsel, feasting, lights, and manic shopping sprees. Let us treasure this freedom and prepare our hearts to worship the Christ-child.
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Housekeeping details for you
The point of this short blog will become clear if you decide to use this reading in the way we intend it. Netherfield Seventh-day Adventist Church believes in healthy churches. You can see what that means if you head to the relevant Healthy Churches page of the website. We also want other churches to be healthy. That means you can join in our campaign to create healthy churches, with healthy people serving the people in those churches.
A healthy church is one where Jesus comes first. A healthy church is one where the people work together to put Jesus first. One thing we are doing is to join people together to spread that news. I would like you to look at our prayer partners page. This will explain how we want you to use this short devotional. Very basically we want you to find a like-minded Christian friend who you will join with to : choose to pray together every day, decide together on a way to serve other people together, to help them grow as Christians - and to invite the Holy Spirit into your life every day. This blog that you will receive every day simply gives a common spiritual purpose. If you are a newcomer and want to join the blog with this object in mind click here
