Day 12 Advent Candle: Today you will light the Prophecy Candle and then the Bethlehem Candle. Bible Verses John 1:1-9 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to every man was coming into the world. Doesn't the first line of our reading today sound familiar? The book of John is focused on one main objective--to bring people to faith in Christ by proving He is the Son of God. John wants to convince his readers of Jesus' diety and he begins with the Incarnation. John may have carefully chosen those beginning words because he wants to identify Christ with the God from Genesis! The God who created the universe is the same God who was born into the world as our Savior. In The Concise Matthew Henry Commentary, the author explains that Jesus is called the Word because, God's Word represents His thoughts to us; Jesus the Son thinks the thoughts of God the Father. They are one and the same. We can see the great love in the act of the Incarnation only if we grasp what Jesus willingly sacrificed to come here for us. The Gospel of John convicts us to receive and believe that Jesus is God and he is introducing us to our Savior through the first act of love Jesus did for us. Now notice that Jesus is called "the light" seven times in this short passage! We have discussed light before, but now, as John is showing us Christ as both man AND diety, he uses the word "light" to explain that Jesus is like a beacon, showing us The Way. We will know Him because He is completely opposite from the darkness around Him. John wants us to be sure that we don't miss Him! Jesus represents the light of wisdom, the light of recognition about who God is (you know, like a light bulb going off in your mind!), and the light of eternal life. John (the disciple) also mentions the forerunner, John the Baptist, who will reflect Christ (His light) but not BE the light. Many people wondered if John the Baptist was the Savior and John 1:6-8 clarifies (as John the Baptist himself does several times)that Jesus is the ONE, the LIGHT. The forerunner is here to tell people how to receive Him. Article/Devotion The Image of Him by Warren Wiersbe from Back to the Bible. It Came Upon a Midnight Clear From Elizabeth Elliot. The Gift of Peace a follow-up to the previous article. Dinnertime (or anytime!) Discussion When Jesus was born "the light" came into the world! One of the meanings of Jesus as the light is that He gives us understanding about things we didn't understand before we knew Him! What are some things that God has "brought to light" for you since you became a follower of Christ? Word to Know Witness: Noun: 1a. One who can give a firsthand account of something seen, heard, or experienced: a witness to the accident. b. One who furnishes evidence. 2. Something that serves as evidence; a sign. 3. Law a. One who is called on to testify before a court. b. One who is called on to be present at a transaction in order to attest to what takes place. c. One who signs one's name to a document for the purpose of attesting to its authenticity. 4. An attestation to a fact, statement, or event; testimony. 5a. One who publicly affirms religious faith. Transitive Verb: 1a. To be present at or have personal knowledge of. b. To take note of; observe. 2. To provide or serve as evidence of. See synonyms at indicate. 3. To testify to; bear witness. 4. To be the setting or site of: This old auditorium has witnessed many ceremonies. 5. To attest to the legality or authenticity of by signing one's name to. Intransitive Verb: 1. To furnish or serve as evidence; testify. 2. To testify to one's religious beliefs. (The American Heritage Dictionary) Book Suggestion God's Precious Gift in a Manger by Rebecca Ann Lamb. Beautiful illustrations take you through history to see God's hand in bringing Christ to us in a manger. Much more than a Christmas book, this shares in a simple but meaningful way the need of mankind for a Savior! Art The painting called "The Nativity" above is by an Italian artist name Lorenzo Lotto. This is one of my favorite paintings of this scene. Unfortunately, little is known about Lorenzo Lotto; he moved quite frequently and all of his works created while he was in the Vatican from 1509-1511 have been lost. ("The Nativity", however, is at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. and I've had the wonderful experience of seeing it!) Lotto's work mainly consisted of portraits and religious subjects. However, he did not use traditional lines in composing some of his pieces; subjects are placed asymmetrically or looking off the canvas at some unknown object or person. Works of Lorenzo Lotto One of my favorite art resources on the internet. (Lotto's gallery comes with my standard warning. LOL) Christmas Carol or Hymn What Child Is This? Worship Carols of Christmas--What Child is This? This is an audio presentation by Woodrow Kroll of Back to the Bible. You can also sign up for free to read the transcript instead if you like. Holiday Tradition & History 12 Days of Christmas The poem and song "The Twelve Days of Christmas" is believed to be more than just a simple Christmas story of love. Some feel that it represents the love Christ has for the church and that each gift in the song is an important aspect of faith for us to remember. Whether or not the elements of the song are "code" for parts of the catechism so that persecuted Christians/Catholics could be reminded of the principles of their faith is still up in the air. There isn't much proof either way. However, the song does remind us of what Epiphany used to mean in churches around the world. Epiphany was once an even more celebrated holiday than Christmas, complete with gifts, attending church, reflecting and meditating on the Word and devoting oneself to prayer! The 12 days are not the 12 days leading up to Christmas but the days from December 26th until the beginning of Epiphany on January 6th. (I'm giving you the history now so that we don't forget!) The legend behind what may be a Christian double-meaning in "The Twelve Days of Christmas" truly serves to give us one more way to give glory to God this Christmas. Not by believing the legend or not, but by using what it stands for to remind us of God's great love for us and the rich Christian history we have. Here, then, are the 12 gifts of Christmas--from an earthly suitor or the Great Suitor of our hearts, take your pick! On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me...a partridge in a pear tree. The partridge represents Christ. He acts as a mother partridge does, luring predators away from her babies and risking her life in their stead. (Read Luke 13:34) On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me...two turtle doves. Two turtle doves stand for the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, God's love letter to mankind and "HiStory"! On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me...three French hens. Three French hens are the three theological virtues of Faith, Hope and Love. (1 Corinthians 13:13) On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me...four calling birds. The four calling birds represent the four Gospels---Matthew, Mark, Luke and John--which share the message which calls us to Christ. On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me...five gold rings. The five gold rings are the first five books of the Old Testament, the Pentateuch. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy give a sweeping overview of man's sinful nature, our need for redemption, and God's plan to save us! On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me...six geese a-laying. The six geese represent the six days of creation. The eggs they lay are representative of life. On the seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me...seven swans a-swimming. The seven swans are the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit: prophecy, service or ministry, teaching, exhortation, giving, leading and mercy or compassion. On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me...eight maids a-milking. The eight maids stand for the eight Beatitudes. (Read Matthew 5:3-10) On the ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me...nine ladies dancing. The nine ladies represent the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me...ten lords a-leaping. The ten lords are the ten commandments. (Read Exodus 20:1-17) On the eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me...eleven pipers piping. The eleven pipers stand for the eleven faithful apostles: Simon Peter, Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James bar Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas bar James. On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me...twelve drummers drumming. The twelve drummers represent the twelve fundamental points of the Apostle's Creed. 12 Days of Christmas Stamps From Around the World This is a very nice collection of stamp images that have been illustrated with 12 Days of Christmas themes. 'Round the World at Christmas There are many interesting Christmas traditions shared by the people of Greece. In many homes there is no Christmas tree, but they are becoming more popular and cities in Greece are influenced by the West. The traditional symbol of Christmas in the Greek home is a wooden bowl with a wooden cross wrapped with fresh basil hanging down into the water. Water is always in the bowl to keep the basil alive. Once a day, a family member dips the cross and basil into holy water and sprinkles each room of the house. Greek families usually open their Christmas gifts on January 1st, which is St. Basil's Day! On this day, many people have a "renewal of waters" tradition of replacing all the water jugs in the home with fresh St. Basil's water. (Many Christmas traditions in Greece contain both Christian and pagan aspects--during the renewal of waters, some families make an offering to the naiads, or nymphs of springs and fountains.) Greeks have an old tradition that mischievous elves called the Killantzaroi leave the center of earth where they live and enter people's homes to cause trouble. People believe that the sprinkling of holy water will keep them away. Some families keep a fire burning in their fireplace straight through the twelve days of Christmas (from Dec. 26 to Epiphany) to keep the sprites away. Another important figure in Greek Christmases is St. Nicholas. Because he is the patron saint of sailors, many Greeks never leave port without a symbol or image of St. Nicholas with them. Their image of the saint is a strong man with saltwater in his beard and clothes drenched in brine because he is out on the waters saving sailors and guiding ships to shore. As Christmas approaches, children go house to house singing "Kalanda" which are their Christmas carols. Neighbors are prepared to give out candies, dried fruits or coins to the singers. Everyone looks forward to the huge Christmas Feast because everyone has been fasting for 40 days! Pigs are roasted and special loaves of "christopsomo", or Christ bread, are baked with special symbols engraved in the crust to represent the family's profession(s). Or, the sweet bread will simply bear a cross. Kala Christouyenna! (Merry Christmas!) Christmas Fun! Interactive Christmas Card Follow the directions and watch this simple, cute Christmas card scene unfold. 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