December 30, 2025

EIGHT days to Bethlehem…

…journeying as magi.

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus  because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8.1-2)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

Have you ever wondered why the resonance sounds of “five golden rings” is what we may well remember most about the song “The Twelve Days of Christ”? We may have anxiety about remembering all the elements that come after them from “six geese a-laying” to “twelve drummers drumming.” We are filled with a sense of joy as we feel the easy slide from “four calling birds” to “a partridge in a pear tree.” It is those “five golden rings” which seem to wrap us up intensely. All the voices of the choir resound in together harmoniously announcing “five golden rings.” The fullness of the sound, and the visual emphasis it creates becomes a herculean effort. We might even seen the Olympic rings in our mind’s eye nestled together and joined to one another in solidarity. We, as Christ followers, know the most important element is the one were the song begins and ends: and a partridge in a pear tree. It is the most important because it points to the Christ figure of our faith, hope and love. It points to the ultimate sacrifice of that same faith, hope and love which was borne on a tree, the cross of suffering and shame. With the anticipation of the start of the song and the crescendo of the end of the song, it remains that the “five golden rings” keeps echoing in our brains. We see the golden rings, just as easily as we see the Olympic rings, but have we truly considered what they were meant to teach as they are presented?

The Olympic rings represent the five “continents” of Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceana (the island nations of the Pacific) and the Americas (from north to south). Their colors do not speak to ethnicity, race or any genderism. Instead, they are the colors of which at least one is found in every nation’s flag. Their interconnectedness symbolizes friendship and cooperation (although that has sorely been tested in its recent history.) While I haven’t seen “broken” Olympic rings, we have witnessed the tragedy which politics and a party spirit have wreaked upon the competition and its ideal. The striving for perfection is too often overtaken by the desire to control one nation over another, one ideal over another, one people over another. It is as if we lose our sense of identity and grounding for the sake of competition to determine who in the moment is the greatest and the best. But this reflection is not about the Olympic rings or the Olympic idea. It is about another set of five which serve as a foundation out of which everything else is built upon that makes the song a lesson to be learned.

“Five golden rings” speak to the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible. The Hebrews call it the Torah. In Hebrew it promotes the practice of teaching and instruction. In reference to the Word of God, it is the teaching concerning the Law of God which was given to Moses. The purpose of the teaching was to lead, guide and instruct the people of God as they journeyed back to their Promised Land. In the modern Church, there is this sense of casting aside the “Law of God,” some would call it the Old Testament or covenant, in favor of that which is called the New Testament or covenant made known in Jesus Christ. Perhaps in some sense of the word, the first five books of the New Testament could well be considered an instructional teaching guide for those who are saved by faith and grace over and against those “saved” under the Law of Moses. We heard the word “gospel” yesterday as the spoken and written traditions proclaiming Jesus as the Christ. We know of the four gospels in the canon of the New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. To those four rings of faith in Jesus as the Christ, we might add a fifth- The Acts of the Apostles. I have spoken of this New Testament writing, at times, as the Gospel of the Church. They would be the “five golden rings” of the New Testament. It is not a competition, however, between the old and the new. We dare not set aside the old and see only the new lest we lose sight of our foundation of faith, hope and love which comes solely and strictly from Almighty God. It is not Moses’ law, after all, it is God’s. The history, wisdom and prophecy which constitute the fullness of the Old Testament are not the works of men but that of God through humanity to speak a truth which was for all people. The same can be said of the New Testament which contains the same genres of writing with a different but same focus and intent. What is that intent?

That intent may well be akin to an olympic ideal of bringing all people together in one body. There we are called to lay aside our differences (race, creed, ethnicity, gender, politics and theological beliefs) and be as one people under one banner. It is the sound of that chorus of people joined together for something greater than themselves. It allows the triumphs of an effort to give all one has as they “keep their eye on the prize.” And, I would add, it falls down and fails when the prize is more than the olive branch that had been placed originally on the victor’s head. In our worldly competitiveness, we incorporated idols of gold, silver and bronze. We continued a faulty practice of looking upon the victors as gods whom people and nations worshipped and idolized. In the name of “victory,” we promoted a pervasive ideal of best and better and failures. While the Olympics are just “games,” the Word of God is not! Whether the Torah or the Gospels, the Old Testament or the New, whether Jew or Christian, the message has always been the same. Perhaps that is why “five golden rings” resonates so much with us who sing “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” We know the ultimate reality is Jesus Christ. It is lost on none of those who believe in Him as Lord and Savior. It is, however, in the “testament” of our faith, hope and love that the coming of the Lord (the Old Testament as preparing the way to return to God), the arrival of the Lord (the on-hand exampling of living a life of righteousness with all people) and the return of the Lord (the crowning of the King of kings and Lord of lords….ah yes, I heard the “Hallelujah Chorus” sung by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir at the moment of that writing) become one in spirit and in truth.

As we ourselves make this yearly pilgrimage to Bethlehem called Epiphany, we must come as magi to “see the One who is born King of the Jews as was foretold in God’s Word.” It is a herculean effort to keep the faith, promote the hope and love one another as God has so loved us. It isn’t about ourselves. We would be as nothing if not for God’s love demonstrated in the gift of Jesus from the cradle to the cross to the crown. Mighty ones of God, consider those five golden rings as wedding rings given to all the people that they in Christ might become as one people with one Lord by one baptism for there is only one way, one truth and one way which leads us back to the Father of Heaven and Earth. And they are rings of gold, a golden promise that He will be our God and we will be His people. Let us join together as we remember our true purpose and calling symbolized in this season of Epiphany: to worship Him who is the true Lord of Heaven and earth. AMEN.

TODAY’S PRAYER IN RESPONSE TO GOD’S WORD:

Father, in these days we are finding the need to believe even more than ever before. We all have known trouble, some in greater ways than others, but You are offering us the assurance that we will not be consumed by it forever. Regardless of the “time” we are in and the “time” we have been given, we ask for Your Holy Spirit which Jesus asked You to share with us, to lead and guide and direct us in the paths we should go. Teach us what we still need to learn. Empower us to put that learning into action. Bless our actions not as a works righteousness but as righteous works of faith, hope and love in Jesus’ name. AMEN.