On this third day of Christmas I am pondering the entire twelve days of this journey. Long held in Christian traditions is the notion that the 3 Wise Men arrived on the 12th day of Christmas, also known as Epiphany. But what has turned that tradition into a song . . . and what do each of the days signify in their original context? In researching the song, "The Twelve Days of Christmas", one website seems to have adequately encapsulated both the secular and the religious histories of this piece and I humbly send you to it for further reference:
I in no way endorse this site, but found it both informative and entertaining in its presentation.
Yet, all history and original meanings aside, as I entered the office this morning and said, "Merry Christmas!" to the Office Manager, she replied, "Well, you seem chipper this morning!" Why does it seem perfectly normal and maybe even expected on every day up to and including Christmas to say, "Merry Christmas!" and have others reply, "Merry Christmas to you!", while on the days after Christmas the greeting, "Merry Christmas!" elicits odd looks and comments like, "Well, you seem chipper this morning!"? Is it not still the Season of Christmas?
Does Christmas leave the house when the stores begin their bargain basement sales? Have we become so enculturated that a Holy Day in the church is just that, 'a day'? Have we been preparing for Christmas for so long, some beginning in September, that by the time we reach that most precious moment in time, we are so exhausted that we no more want to hear any more about Christmas than the atheist who didn't want to hear about it in the first place?
Whether the twelve days of Christmas refer to a season of gifts which continue arriving each day, or to the twelve days Christian tradition appropriates to the Wise Men in their travels to Bethlehem, or to the twelve tribes of Israel, or to the twelve points of Doctrine in the Apostle's Creed, or to the twelves disciples who walked with Jesus, in my simple mind, the point is not about the days at all. The point is that Christmas is more than a day, it is a way of being and believing on the journey.
At issue is not what each day signifies but, rather, what Christmas signifies in the ways we choose to live into the birth of Jesus Christ in our world. Such a turn in thought leads the believer to behave differently from what the world deems, 'normal'. For some, it may mean following a star to find what is birthed below it in Light. For some, it may mean going out from the stable and telling everyone they meet what has been seen and heard. For others, it may mean that the entire kaleidoscope of events is held deep in their hearts, pondering the revelations for the fullness of time to explain. And, for some, Christmas itself, as well as the days after, is that one transformational moment in time when the goodness and love of God emerges from the birth waters of Divine labor and makes new, even 'chipper', the hearts of those who receive the Gift.
On this third day of Christmas, may Christ be born anew in you again, and forevermore.
Your servant in Christ,
Pastor Don
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