This is a continuation of a post on the 12 Days of Christmas. Read the first part here: Twelve Days of Christmas, Part 1.
Day Five–Five Golden Rings
The five golden rings supposedly refer to the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible. Traditionally, these were written by Moses, but almost no one believes Moses actually wrote them down. The stories were oral tadition. The books–Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuternoomy–explain the origins of humankind and humanity’s rlationship with God.
Day Six–Six Geese A-Laying
The six geese represent the six days of creation. Creation is explained celebrated in the first chaptes of Genesis, which means “in the beginning.” This is more celebration than explanation because it is not intended to be a scientific explanation. The language of these verses more closely resembles the poetry of Psalms than the history of Chronicles.
Genesis contains two creation stories. That’s right. Two! The creation order is unique in each story. Let’s take a look.
| Creation Story #1 Genesis 1 | Creation Story #2 Genesis 2 |
|---|---|
| Light | Earth and Sky; Human Male |
| Sky (waters separated) | Garden--with Tree of Life and Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil |
| Earth and Sea; Plants (seeds) and Trees (fruit) | Animals |
| Sun, Moon (to mark seasons) and Stars. | Woman |
| Sea dwellers and Air dwellers (birds) | |
| Land dwellers (livestock, crawlers, wildlife) and Humans |
In Creation Story #1, God says, “Let us make humanity in our image to resemble us so that they may take charge….God created humanity in God’s own image, in the divine image God created them, male and female God created them.” Man and woman are created together, both in God’s image. Notice that God says “us” (plural). This is believed to mean the Trinity–God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. The moral of this story is that the God of Israel is the one true living God. This God existed before anything in creation, and is the creator of all that is, making Israel’s God the creator of, and therefore more powerful than, everything worshipped by the people’s around them.
In Creation Story #2, the moral of this story is that creation is about human beings. The human male is formed from the soil and God breathes life into him. The garden is created for him. The animals are named by him, and none are found to be his equal. So woman is created. This story explains the unique relationship between a husband and wife, and their relationship with God.
The event we call The Fall is in this story. Man is the crown of creation, but there are limits. God tells them to leave the tree in the middle of the garden alone, which they, of course, do not do. This gets them in trouble . . . BIG trouble, including expulsion from the garden. We call this The Fall.
Day Seven–Seven Swans A-Swimming
The seven swans represent the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit or the seven sacraments, depending on whose “key” you are using.
The Seven Gifts
The seven gifts are given at baptism and strengthened at confirmation, in the Catholic Christian tradition. They are: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord.
- Wisdom is the first and greatest gift, acting upon the intellect and will. Wisdom attracts us to the divine.
- Understanding relates all truths together. It helps us understand our purpose, understand Scripture and understand the significance of religious ritual.
- Counsel comes by the Spirit, enabling us to judge between right and wrong, especially in difficult situations.
- Fortitude is both courage and endurance. Fortitude enables us to stand for right even in the face of rejection, verbal abuse or physical harm.
- Knowledge allow us to see things from God’s perspective.
- Piety connects action with reverence, enabling us to accord to God that which is due to God.
- Fear of the Lord is not cowering fear. It is wonder, awe, and respect
The Seven Sacraments
Most Protestant churches recognize only two sacraments. (I say “most” because some Protestant denominations do not recognize any sacraments. They call them ordinances. The difference between a sacrament and an ordinance is a topic for another day. Lutherans have a third sacrament: Confession/Absolution.)
The Roman Catholic Church, however, recognizes seven, in three categories.
- The sacraments of initiation: Baptism, Confirmation and the Eucharist.
- The sacraments of healing: Reconciliation and Anointing of the Sick.
- The sacraments of service: Holy Orders and Matrimony.
Read Part 3 of this series here.
These are very well written but need some mild editing. Just some misspells. Nothing major.