The "twelve drummers drumming" were the twelve points of belief expressed in the Apostles' Creed: belief in God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, that Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin Mary, made man, crucified, died and arose on the third day, that he sits at the right hand of the father and will come again, the resurrection of the dead and life everlasting.*
That's the basics of the faith. The fact that it is God alone who makes all of this possible. Any alteration of these tenets is a different gospel and not a gospel at all. God did all the work and all we have to do is accept that fact because we realize how depraved we are and incapable of fixing our lives w/o the atoning work of Jesus on the cross.
I pray that today and everyday forward, the Lord will help every person comes to a saving knowledge and saving relationship with Jesus Christ.
God bless you all
NEO, SOC
* - I don't know how valid that this was the meaning behind this carol, but if it brings us back to remembering why we celebrate the time, then so be it!
I don't know how valid that this was the meaning behind this carol, but if it brings us back to remembering why we celebrate the time, then so be it!
ReplyDeleteAgreed. In fact, this time of year I love the liturgical calendar, where Advent begins 4 weeks before Christmas and Christmas doesn't end until December 6. Contemplation of Christ's redemptive birth deserves more than a single day.
Thanks for sharing.
Good idea with the 12 days described here..I think you're right. I gave my uncle a book of this, beautifully illustrated, and he said "you sure these are really what the days mean?" We both agreed it didn't really matter. It's sort of like Geo Washington and never having cut down a cherry tree and not lied about it...it builds character for children to hear it and this builds faith and gives us more to ponder..always a good thing.
ReplyDeletePlus, it's my family's favorite carol, the Christmas night carol singing always ends with this one and a fun tradition...the 'director' has to remember which day he gave to whom and usually forgets. It's fun.
Thanks for the nice reminder! Happy New Year.