Author Note: Readings
are proper from January 5 before Epiphany
1 John 3:11-21; Psalm
100; John 1:43-51
Beloved: This is the
message you have heard from the beginning: we should love one another.
1 John 3:11
Merry Twelfth Day of Christmas!
When I was three years old I was taught to memorize that
beloved verse from scripture, John 3:16.
I was raised as a Pentecostal and taught the scripture from the King
James Version. In that old English my
little voice would recite: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting
life.” My grandmother would have me recite
this verse for her class. I’m glad I don’t
actually have memories of that. But I’m
even more glad that my parents and grandparents taught me that verse.
We’ve about reached the end of our journey. We began nearly twelve days ago with the wonder
of Christmas. We talked about the Baby,
and God’s plan. We spoke of Mary, and
Anna. We talked of John, the beloved
disciple who penned those immortal words.
We visited God’s redemptive plan in Christ and talked about His complete
victory over the Devil. But now we come
to the apex of it all. Where does it all
lead? What is the point of it all? Love!
The thing that set the whole plan in motion was love. That which brought Christ to earth was
love. The goal is that we can forever
live with God in love. It’s truly all
about love. The message of Christmas is
love. So when we hear John state in
today’s first reading that we are to love one another he is echoing the message
of Christmas. Wherever love is on
display it truly is Christmas all year long.
This is the message we have to carry to the world. We are to love as He loved. Which is to say, that we are to love with
selfless, sacrificial giving. He gave
His life for us. We demonstrate His love
when we lay down our lives for one another.
And this doesn’t only happen when one person literally dies to save
someone else. It happens daily, moment
by moment, when we choose to die to our rights, our plans, and our dreams so
that someone else may have theirs.
I’ve often thought it an odd custom that we give gifts to
each other on Jesus’ birthday. Imagine
if that’s how people celebrated your birthday: they gave gifts to each other
instead of to you. What fun would there
be in that? However, what could you
possibly give to Jesus? I suggest that
the many gifts of love we give to one another are given to Him. “When you did it for one of the least of
these, my brothers, you did it for Me.”
Jesus is pleased when we offer such gifts, not only on His birthday, but
every day.
And so we bring our 12 days of Christmas to a close. I hope this has been a blessing to you in
some small way. It was a joy for me to
share these thoughts with you. I
appreciate the comments that I received, and your love in encouraging me as I
write these reflections.
Now, there’s one thing more.
Tomorrow we celebrate Epiphany.
This was “Christmas” before there was Christmas. Epiphany commemorates, among other things,
the visit of the Magi with their gifts for the infant, Jesus. This was the day customarily reserved for gift
giving. The night before Epiphany was
the night of the Twelfth Day of Christmas and became known as Twelfth Night. It was like Epiphany Eve. If you’ve been journeying with us for the
Twelve Days of Christmas then don’t stop short.
Celebrate Epiphany with us tomorrow.
I will return to offer my final reflection of these festive days. Until
then…
Merry Christmas!
1 comment:
These twelve days have been fun. Thanks for your reflections.
--Jim K
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