Tradition usually has the visit of the magi with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh on the final day of Christmas, heralding the season of Epiphany, the celebration of a manifestation, that in Jesus, all that needs to be known about God is revealed. The gifts of these 12 days comprise this epiphany. The challengeContinue reading “The twelfth day of Christmas… Epiphany!”
Tag Archives: Christmas
On the eleventh day of Christmas … Auld Lang Syne
The gift of connection. The final days of Christmas coincide with New Year celebrations and reflections. As the calendar turns over to the new year, Robert Burn’s Auld Lang Syne rings out through the gathered crowds. It is a song of connection and Christmas is about God’s ultimate gift of connection in dwelling amongst us inContinue reading “On the eleventh day of Christmas … Auld Lang Syne”
The tenth day of Christmas… Word dwells amongst us
Sometimes a gift takes more than one day to unwrap, so we continue to reflect on the implications of deep Wisdom (the Word) taking on flesh in Jesus of Nazareth and dwelling in our midst. A gift is not always well received – look at how busy the “Returns” counter is at the Boxing DayContinue reading “The tenth day of Christmas… Word dwells amongst us”
On the ninth day of Christmas – Deep Wisdom
There is a deep wisdom behind the universe. It is beyond knowledge – knowing how things work. It is beyond mysticism – trusting how things work. Yet it involves and transcends both. In the Jewish and Christian traditions, this deep wisdom has a central focus. Hebrew tradition personifies wisdom as a woman practical and presentContinue reading “On the ninth day of Christmas – Deep Wisdom”
On the eighth day of Christmas … a fresh start
Why is New Year’s Day so evocative of lists to improve and enhance our personal and communal living? Life is comprised of cycles, and somehow, deeply embedded in our collective psyche, a New Year (always capitalised!) marks that part of the cycle where we take a deep breath and start all over again. The giftContinue reading “On the eighth day of Christmas … a fresh start”
On the seventh day of Christmas… hope that envisions a new heaven and a new earth.
This morning another eight Christian leaders face court in Perth on charges of trespass, a result of advocacy for asylum seeker children in the face of political intransigence and obfuscation. A particularly disturbing feature of the incidents of these arrests was the decision by the police, for the first time, to introduce strip-search procedures, evidently designedContinue reading “On the seventh day of Christmas… hope that envisions a new heaven and a new earth.”
On the sixth day of Christmas – cosmic outlook!
Imagine being freed of all spatial and temporal limitation! The high fence surrounding our time frame of an allotted threescore and ten (or thereabout) is torn down. Star Trek type transportation effortlessly disassembles and reunites our cells so that, at a word, we can be present to any place in the universe. We are perenniallyContinue reading “On the sixth day of Christmas – cosmic outlook!”
On the fourth day of Christmas… an orientation to praise and thanksgiving.
When visiting one of the rural districts surrounding Zvishavane in the south of Zimbabwe 3 months ago, we were struck by the resilience of those who lived on the parched plots with little easy access to water, healthcare and education for their children. We were exploring a program run by the Zimbabwe churches with whom weContinue reading “On the fourth day of Christmas… an orientation to praise and thanksgiving.”
On the third day of Christmas….clothes!
No, not those bargains from the Boxing Day sales. The prophet rhapsodies over gifts of garments representing security, belonging, freedom and hope for the realisation of a vision where all is right with the world. To wear this apparel is to celebrate, as if at a wedding. Something new is beginning and we dress accordingly.Continue reading “On the third day of Christmas….clothes!”
On the second day of Christmas…Nunc Dimittis
These words of completion spontaneously uttered by old Simeon and reinforced by even older Anna, when they encountered the infant Jesus during the customary Jewish purification rites, have given us the gift of the Nunc Dimittis. Here is one rendition of it:
Wondering Pilgrim 