Advent / Christmas 2009
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The Last Eight Days of Advent
During the last eight days of Advent, it is useful to reflect on the different titles given to the Lord who is to come. The titles are Old Testament titles, here conferred on Jesus, showing he is the promised Messiah.
Wisdom
St. Paul tells us that God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom. He is saying that it is hard to imagine the Wisdom of God, who knows all things, because God has created all things. This title of God reminds us especially of the Book of Wisdom in the Old Testament - a beautiful hymn in which wisdom is personified, and is active in the world.
Adonai
A name for the Most High God, whose true name could not be uttered, and of whom it was said that no-one could gaze on the face of God and live. Adonai is the Lord of armies, who will march out to save the people in battle.
Stock of Jesse
Jesse was the father of King David, and Jesus is a descendent of David. >From David comes the association of Jesus as royal, of David's line. Jesus inherits the throne of David, re-defining his role as King of the Jews.
Key of David
Jesus is not simply a ruler descended from David, but a liberator, a redeemer. This name echoes the mission of Jesus to bind and to loose, a mission Jesus passes on to his disciples.
Rising Sun
The sun is a sign of God's creation, God's endurance, and a sign of God's glory. God's glory outshines the sun, and will endure after the sun and moon have failed. Psalm 84 describes God as the sun:
"For the LORD God is a sun and shield; he bestows favor and honor. No good thing does the LORD withhold from those who walk uprightly." (Psalm 84:11 NRSV)
King
God is the king above all kings, and the prophet Samuel is reluctant to anoint a king for the Israelites as this will seem like a rejection of God's rule. Pilate asks Jesus if he is a king; Jesus answers indirectly, because his kingship does not accord with the expectations of the Romans, the Jewish authorities, or even his followers.
Emmanuel
The prophecy of Isaiah foretells a sign to be given by God: a virgin will conceive and give birth to a son whom she will call Emmanuel: a name which means God is with us. Jesus is the word made flesh, God in the midst of the people.
The Origin of the Twelve Days of Christmas
You're all familiar with the Christmas song, "The Twelve Days of Christmas" I think. To most it's a delightful nonsense rhyme set to music. But it had a quite serious purpose when it was written.
It is a good deal more than just a repetitious melody with pretty phrases and a list of strange gifts.
Catholics in England during the period 1558 to 1829, when Parliament finally emancipated Catholics in England, were prohibited from any practice of their faith by law - private or public. It was a crime to bea Catholic.
"The Twelve Days of Christmas" was written in England as one of the "catechism songs" to help young Catholics learn the tenets of their faith.
The songs gifts are hidden meanings to the teachings of the faith. The "true love" mentioned in the song doesn't refer to an earthly suitor, it refers to God Himself. The "me" who receives the presents refers to every baptized person. The partridge in a pear tree is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. In the song, Christ is symbolically presented as a mother partridge which feigns injury to decoy predators from her helpless nestlings, much in memory of the expression of Christ's sadness over the fate of Jerusalem: "Jerusalem! Jerusalem! How often would I have sheltered thee under my wings, as a hen does her chicks, but thou wouldst not have it so..."
The other symbols mean the following:
1 Partridge in a Pear Tree = Jesus Christ, Son of God
2 Turtle Doves = The Old and New Testaments
3 French Hens = Faith, Hope and Charity, the Theological Virtues
4 Calling Birds = the Four Gospels and/or the Four Evangelists
5 Golden Rings = The first Five Books of the Old Testament, the "Pentateuch", which gives the history
of man's fall from grace.
6 Geese A-laying = the six days of creation
7 Swans A-swimming = the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, the seven sacraments
8 Maids A-milking = the eight beatitudes
9 Ladies Dancing = the nine Fruits of the Holy Spirit
10 Lords A-leaping = the ten commandments
11 Pipers Piping = the eleven faithful apostles
12 Drummers Drumming = the twelve points of doctrine in the Apostle's Creed
