12 Days - 11th day of Christmas
Air an aona là deug den Nollaig, chuir m' eudail thugam fhìn
aon deug a' seinn ciùil dhomh, deich deochan sùghmhor
naoi neamhain luachmhor, ochd òigearan uallach, seachd mnathan uasal
sia seòid le sùrdag, còig cailleachan-oidhche, ceithir cuthagan
trì cearcan-fraoich, dà chalman agus smeòrach le ceileireadh binn.
On the eleventh day of Christmas my sweetheart sent to me
eleven songs singing, ten juicy drinks, nine precious pearls, eight comely lads, seven noble ladies, six handsome heroes, five wise old owls, four cuckoo birds, three moorhens, two turtledoves and a song thrush sweetly singing.
The wise men are almost to the stable, one more move and they'll be there (once I go move them from yesterday's position that is). They only spent one night at Hogwarts - B said that Gaspar was disappointed in that they didn't visit the Victorian village/ Advent calendar this year (he - Gaspar - likes visiting the shops). I told him that Hagrid was trying to persuade the Magi to part with one of their camels for the menagerie - he thought it was an odd and unusual beast. And his pet dragon (non-canonical) tried to follow them, but was turned back by a magical barrier.
There was a comment made about the appropriateness of setting up scenarios for the Magi to encounter as they make their journey from one end of the living room to the stable at the other end, but there is a faith reason for my ... whimsy. The Magi represent our own journey to find the Christchild - the simple faith that forms our salvation. On our life journey, we encounter the clutter of everyday life, the distraction of the bright and shiny (and just plain neat!) and the obstructionism of bureaucracy. We encounter physical, moral and emotional obstacles that we need to overcome if we are to arrive at our destination. Sometimes, we are distracted. Sometimes, we are delayed. The victory lies in continuing.
Another lesson in the setting up of these scenarios is that faith doesn't have to be humourless. Our God created giraffes and platypi, sex and pratfalls, teen angst and laughter. How can we worship him if not with good-humour and laughter, song and story? To deny humour, to deny amusement and joy is to worship ... well, it is NOT any way to worship the Lord of the Universe who created all things. Look around you, see what joy there is, what beauty exists in the world, and then tell me true that I am wrong.
Yes, there is also ugliness and pain, sorrow and disease. All the evil things that the ancient Greeks imagined were released by Pandora when she opened the box. But hope, joy and beauty also exist and evil is in NO WAY stronger than good.
aon deug a' seinn ciùil dhomh, deich deochan sùghmhor
naoi neamhain luachmhor, ochd òigearan uallach, seachd mnathan uasal
sia seòid le sùrdag, còig cailleachan-oidhche, ceithir cuthagan
trì cearcan-fraoich, dà chalman agus smeòrach le ceileireadh binn.
On the eleventh day of Christmas my sweetheart sent to me
eleven songs singing, ten juicy drinks, nine precious pearls, eight comely lads, seven noble ladies, six handsome heroes, five wise old owls, four cuckoo birds, three moorhens, two turtledoves and a song thrush sweetly singing.
The wise men are almost to the stable, one more move and they'll be there (once I go move them from yesterday's position that is). They only spent one night at Hogwarts - B said that Gaspar was disappointed in that they didn't visit the Victorian village/ Advent calendar this year (he - Gaspar - likes visiting the shops). I told him that Hagrid was trying to persuade the Magi to part with one of their camels for the menagerie - he thought it was an odd and unusual beast. And his pet dragon (non-canonical) tried to follow them, but was turned back by a magical barrier.
There was a comment made about the appropriateness of setting up scenarios for the Magi to encounter as they make their journey from one end of the living room to the stable at the other end, but there is a faith reason for my ... whimsy. The Magi represent our own journey to find the Christchild - the simple faith that forms our salvation. On our life journey, we encounter the clutter of everyday life, the distraction of the bright and shiny (and just plain neat!) and the obstructionism of bureaucracy. We encounter physical, moral and emotional obstacles that we need to overcome if we are to arrive at our destination. Sometimes, we are distracted. Sometimes, we are delayed. The victory lies in continuing.
Another lesson in the setting up of these scenarios is that faith doesn't have to be humourless. Our God created giraffes and platypi, sex and pratfalls, teen angst and laughter. How can we worship him if not with good-humour and laughter, song and story? To deny humour, to deny amusement and joy is to worship ... well, it is NOT any way to worship the Lord of the Universe who created all things. Look around you, see what joy there is, what beauty exists in the world, and then tell me true that I am wrong.
Yes, there is also ugliness and pain, sorrow and disease. All the evil things that the ancient Greeks imagined were released by Pandora when she opened the box. But hope, joy and beauty also exist and evil is in NO WAY stronger than good.