2023 Sun Dec 17

Each week in Advent has a specific theme:

Week 1- The End of Time / Remaining Awake
Week 2 – God promises for Peace and Justice / John the Baptism
Week 3 – Rejoice (Gaudete Sunday) / John the Baptist
Week 4 – The Messiah

Advent comes from a Latin word – “advenire” – which means to come to/ During Advent. There are three comings:

• The Coming of God to the world as a human baby
• The Coming of God to the world in His glory at the end of time where God’s purposes will be fulfilled. The second coming
• The Coming of God into the world today. Jesus comes to us now in word and sacrament, in prayer and praise, in his Body, the Church

Advent causes us to remember that we are a people who live “between.” We live between the incarnation and the parousia, the day of the Lord.

Advent is a journey, a pilgrimage of watching and waiting. We are not ready for the Christ Child as we have work to do.

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“ . . . . AND A PARTRIDGE IN A PEAR TREE”

During the next few weeks you’ll be hearing it over and over, perhaps to the point of saying, “Enough already”! But you might be interested to know the origin of the

familiar “secular” holiday song; it has roots as a teaching tool to instruct young people in England in the content of the Christian faith!

From 1558 to 1829, Roman Catholics were not able to practice their faith openly in  Protestant England, so they devised ways of passing on their beliefs to their children.

“The Twelve Days of Christmas” is one example of how they did it. Each of the gifts mentioned represents something of religious significance:

1. On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me:  

The “true love ” represents God, and the “ me ” is the believer who receives the gifts.  The partridge in a pear tree is Jesus Christ who died on a “tree” as a gift from God.

2.Two turtle doves are the Old and the New Testaments – another gift from God.  

3.The three French hens are faith, hope, and love –the three gifts of the Spirit that abide. (I Corinthians 13)  

4.The four colley* birds are the four gospels which sing the song of salvation through Jesus Christ. (Although most modern versions say “ calling ” birds, the proper word is “ colley ”, which is a type of blackbird common in England.)  

5. The five gold rings are the first five books of the Bible, also called the “Books of Moses” or the “Pentateuch”.  

6. The six geese-a-laying are the six days of creation. (On the seventh day, God rested.)  

7.The seven swans – a – swimming are the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. (I Corinthians 12:8-10)  

8.The eight maids –a – milking are the beatitudes. (There appear to be Nine in Matthew 5: 3 -11, but the first eight are the ones directed at others ; the ninth refers only to Jesus’ listeners on the mountain.)  

 9. The nine ladies dancing are the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit. (Galatians 5: 22 -23)  

 10. The ten lords – a- leaping are the Ten Commandments.  

 11. The eleven pipers piping are the eleven faithful disciples.  

 12. The twelve drummers drumming are the twelve major points of the Apostles’ Creed.  

So the next time you hear “The Twelve Days of Christmas”, consider how this otherwise Secular sounding song was a tool to instruct the young. Remember, it’s still Christmas for 12 days . . . until theFeast of the Epiphany!

-Father Rod Caulkins, St. James Episcopal Louisa 

Come to St. Peter’s in the late fall and early winter between 4pm and 6pm and the beauty is overwhelming. These were taken on Friday, Dec. 9, 2016.

See the pictures

(full size gallery)

Members of the Flower Guild and Bible study stayed afterwards on Dec. 13, 2023 and did flower arranging for the church windows. Special kudos to Johnny Davis for decorating the evergreen in the front yard.

This candle reflects the joy that comes through Jesus’ arrival, and through the salvation he has gifted us. During this third week of advent, this Sunday celebrates the passage Philippians 4:4-5, its verses extolling readers to “rejoice” for “indeed the Lord is near.” This Sunday is traditionally known as “Gaudete” or “Rejoice” Sunday, so called because of the heightened excitement in anticipation for the birth of Christ

During a time where depression is at an all-time high and people seem to be in the most despair, this candle offers a bright light during a dark time.

It is also known as the Shepherd Candle to highlight the joy the shepherds experienced when they received the good news about Christ’s birth (Luke 2:8-20). During the middle of the night, the darkest time, the shepherds encountered angels.

The third candle of Advent has an unusual place. In most advent wreaths, it is the one candle that is a different color, pink, than the others. There is something unique, more spontaneous, and celebratory about the theme of the third week of Advent compared to the others.

In contrast to purple, pink or rose represents joy and celebration. One of the ancient church’s popes gave a citizen a pink rose on the third Sunday of Lent, symbolizing the moment of joy amidst Lent’s fasting and penance. Therefore, when Catholic priests modeled Advent celebrations on Lent, they wore rose-colored robes and set the third Sunday of December as the time to remember joy. The pink or rose-colored advent candle is lit on that third Sunday.

It’s also worth noting that more so than the other three Advent themes, joy is something we associate with spontaneous action. Hope, peace, joy, and love are all things that God places in us and should be ongoing attitudes in our lives. However, hope and peace are generally seen as inner qualities that we cultivate by meditating on ideas like God’s provision. Love is something we do, but also something we cultivate and meditate on.

Joy tends to have a more spontaneous effect. Joy can motivate us to celebrate or worship with glorious abandon (like David did when he danced in front of the ark of the covenant). In that light, it’s appropriate that the advent candle representing joy is a different color, highlighting the different nature of joy compared to the other advent themes.

Explore Advent, Part 3 – Over the Sundays in Advent there will be a presentation each week focusing on that week’s scriptures, art and commentary and how they demonstrate the themes of advent. Let’s continue with Advent 3.

A. Voices for Advent 3

“In Advent the church emphasizes these ways of continual change: Repentance. Conversion of life. Self-examination. Awakening. Deepening.  “

– Suzanne Guthrie

B. “You Don’t Want to Be a Prophet (Isaiah, Luke)

Christmas without Anglicans?” – Anglican contributions to Advent and Christmas carols.