The Third Day of Christmas
Date: 27 December 2014
Original Gift: Three French
Hens
South African Gift: A bottle
of French campaign. That was the original idea, but I decided a nice Wildekrans
from Hermanus was a good South African spin on the French drink.
Price: Not too sure, as I
found it in the fridge. But I reckon somewhere in the region of R100.
Food: Turducken
a l’Orange (that’s three birds in a French sauce)
Saint: John
Scripture: Corinthians 13 (you can get a free copy of the English
Standard Version Bible on Kindle)
Activity: Take a road trip and
have the campaign upon arrival in celebration of the people you’re with and for
safe travels.
On the third day of Christmas my
true love gave to me, three French hens.
By this time most people have mourned the passing of Christmas and are starting
to look ahead to hopefully more holiday before New Year’s celebrations. It’s
also the time when most people who have spent Christmas and the holidays with
loved ones start to get a little annoyed, as the best of families do. Thoughtless
little comments or actions are taken way too personally, small children are
getting bored and boisterous and you feel that the next wayward opinion might
finally make you say something you’ll regret.
If that’s not the case, congratulations – you’ve reached a higher state of
consciousness and should go annoy someone else. Either that, or you’re a liar,
in which case you’ll be grouped with other normal family members and are
welcome to stay. You may find perspective by having a look at what we’re all
doing together in the first place and what this love we claim to have for each
other entails. 1 Corinthians 13:1-8 has
the most sobering descriptions – especially if you look at some contemporary
translations such as the Message or New Living Translation for a change –
especially for those who think they know it off by heart and don’t need to look
it up in other translations. Do it!
 |
| Mourning the passing of Christmas - it's a real thing! |
A little further down in 1 Corinthians 13 you’ll also find the three
virtues represented by the three French hens – faith, hope and
love. Love, the most important one, is often used interchangeably with
yesterday’s charity, which was the
virtue attributed to St John –
Jesus’ beloved apostle. He was tasked with taking care of Mary (Jesus’
mother) the only of Jesus’ apostles not to forsake him at the cross.
“But what is perfect will someday appear, and what isn’t perfect will
then disappear… For now there are faith, hope and love. But of these three, the
greatest is love.” 1
Corinthians 13:10, 13
So until that time comes when we’re all perfect in our actions and
reactions, cling to hope, faith and what it means to love.
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