“On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me two turtle doves.”
Scriptures
Psalm 119:33-40; Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Galatians 3:1-25; 4:4-7
For reflection
Today’s Christmas gifts -- the Old and New Testaments -- are foundational gifts. Together, they weave the connected and continuing story of salvation history. It begins with the people of Israel and continues in the Church of Jesus Christ. The books of the Old and New Testament are authoritative in that Christians hold that no other documents or sources are needed to lead us to faith in God and life in fellowship with God and one another.
Christmas is the transition point from Old Testament to New Testament. Ancient anticipations, expectations, and interpretations of the Law and prophecies of a Messiah (Christ) are fulfilled in the life of Jesus of Nazareth. Many good people were so deeply entrenched in their traditions that they simply could not make Jesus fit into their worldview. Many others -- hungry for grace, liberation, and restoration – in faith opened their hearts to Jesus, in whom they found the embodiment of God’s promises.
The Old Testament was the primary source for early followers of Jesus. It was the Old Testament to which the Apostle Paul was referring when he said “all Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). So, don’t leave the Old Testament out of your study. Read it for all its worth, for all you can possibly learn and glean from it. At the same time know that much of what the OT points to has been or is being fulfilled in Jesus Christ.The word “testament” is pretty heavy. It’s similar to “covenant.” Testaments have binding promises and obligations--many assumed and unspoken--for the parties who enter into their terms. So, when Jesus says to the disciples, as they share the Passover meal together, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood” (2 Corinthians 11:25), it must have been rather mind-boggling. We are still exploring and living the full implications of this new covenant. Reading and seeking to understand the the Old and New Testaments, we live, learn and appropriate the terms of this new covenant.
One of the things I find most helpful as I read both Old and New Testaments is to try to grasp and apply the appropriate genre--the literary form--of writing that is being used. We read legal documents differently than we do songs. We understand letters differently than we do histories. We appreciate the difference between a matter-of-fact statement and hyperbole (intended exaggeration). Noting this helps us interpret and apply the Bible more effectively in our lives and world. The fact that we believe the books of the Bible are inspired and useful for “teaching, etc.” doesn’t mean we read flatly. To take the Bible literally does not mean we take it literalistically. The difference is profound.
The dramatic diversity of the writings in the Bible makes it difficult to find a common thread running throughout. But both Old and New Testaments point rather commonly to a Kingdom of God -- people living in harmonious and abundant community through the gracious reign of God as Lord. God’s reign is depicted in the Old and New Testaments as a kingdom of peace. So it is fitting that today’s gifts are depicted as “turtle doves,” the dove being the ancient and contemporary symbol of peace, or shalom. I like to think of the Old and New Testaments being at peace with each other. The dove is also a symbol of the Holy Spirit, who brings the Word of God alive in our lives. Embrace God’s gift peace expressed in the new covenant mediated and sustained by Jesus Christ, the partridge in a pear tree.
Journaling & prayer possibilities
Try to imagine yourself a Catholic parent in 16th Century England and your expression of faith has been banned because of international politics. What essential gifts of the Christian faith would you want to instill in your children, even at the risk of your life? Make a short list of essential gifts are vital for faith for children and adults in contemporary America, gifts worth living or dying for? What simple daily steps can you take to increase awareness of and love for the Word of God in your life and the lives of your loved ones? For what in the Old and New Testaments may you offer thanks today?
Song
Come, Holy Ghost, Our Hearts Inspire by Charles Wesley
Come Holy Ghost, our hearts inspire;
Let us Thine influence prove;
Source of the old prophetic fire,
Fountain of light and love.
Come, Holy Ghost, for moved by Thee
The prophets wrote and spoke.
Unlock the truth, Thyself the key;
Unseal the sacred Book.
Expand Thy wings, celestial Dove;
Brood o’er our nature’s night.
On our disordered spirits move,
And let there now be light.
God, through Himself, we then shall know
If Thou within us shine;
And sound, with all Thy saints below,
The depths of love divine.
Benediction
“May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” (Hebrews 13:20-21)
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