On the 5th day of Christmas my true love gave to me five golden rings, four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree.
The days after Christmas are celebrated for 12 days leading to Epiphany on January 6th. At a time in which Catholicism was banned in 16th century England, clerics developed the 12 days of Christmas to teach the faith to children – and as well, probably to adults.
The True Love = God
The Partridge = Jesus
The Two Turtle Doves = The Old and New Testaments, portrayals of God’s covenanted, faithfulness.
The Three French Hens = The Character of God represented in Faith, Hope, and Love.
The Four Calling Birds = The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John which faithfully proclaim the life and ministry of Jesus.
The Five Golden Rings = The Foundation for God’s revelation in the Torah: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.
A Reading:
Deuteronomy 30:11-20 (NIV)
11 Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach.
12 It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, "Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?"
13 Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, "Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?"
14 No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.
15 See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction.
16 For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.
17 But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them,
18 I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.
19 This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live
20 and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
A Meditation:
The Old Testament opens with these five books called the Torah. The first five books are attributed to Moses and contain the revelation of God concerning his people, Israel, and his purposes – that through them the law would be given and all of the peoples of the earth would blessed as the nation of Israel’s seed would eventually reveal the Messiah, Jesus.
Here we have the character and ways of God. The text reminds us that God’s ways lead to life. His word revealed his character and his truth about life. His admonition was to cling to his ways so that it might lead to life. All that was missing was “who” would interpret those ways. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life…” Through Jesus we have the author of truth and the revealer of God’s ways that lead to life.
In the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas”, whenever we get to the “Five Golden Rings”, we cannot help but slow the tempo and emphasize most clearly these words. May it remind us that God’s ways are still important for us to cling to over against the ways of the world.
A Prayer and Prayer Request:
This Sunday, Jan. 4th, is the first Sunday of the New Year. I am privileged to be able to address my congregation as it’s teacher/preacher. I am going to focus this message on “The Way in which Jesus is the Way”. If you are not a part of Mad City Church, or miss this Sunday, you can access the teaching at www.madcitychurch.org sometime around Jan. 7th. I’d appreciate your prayers as I prepare and on Sunday as I teach.
“Lord, your word is near to us. It is in fact, very near…in our mouths, in our hearts, that we might obey you. In a time in which we are tempted and deceived to follow another ‘way’, I ask you to point us towards your ways and cause our hearts to cling to your ways and to follow you wherever you direct us to…our relationships, our vocation, our lifestyle, our material goods, our response to the world around us…we need your truth more than ever…this we pray in the name of Jesus.”
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