DAY 3 – DECEMBER 27 -- THE 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS
On the third day of Christmas my TRUE LOVE (GOD) gave to ME … THREE FRENCH HENS.
MEANING – The ‘THREE FRENCH HENS’ refer to the foundation upon which, according to St. Paul, we should build our lives – FAITH, HOPE, LOVE (1 Corinthians 13:13).
SOMETHING TO DO TODAY – take a loonie or toonie, leave it in a public place (restaurant, shop, library, subway, etc) … have FAITH that your act of LOVE will bring HOPE to another human being.
(The song THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS was written in the 16th century to teach the basic tenets of the Christian Faith to children. It is Christianity 101 wrapped in a song. Feel free to forward this to a friend. You can watch the whole 12 days of Christmas grow on my blog. http://mossfromarollingstone.blogspot.com
Friday, December 24, 2010
Thursday, December 23, 2010
DAY 2 of THE 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS
DAY 2 – DECEMBER 26 -- THE 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS
On the second day of Christmas my TRUE LOVE (GOD) gave to ME…TWO TURTLE DOVES.
MEANING – ‘TWO TURTLE DOVES’ are the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, which records God’s journey of love and salvation for all people.
SOMETHING TO DO TODAY – there are 39 books in the Old Testament and 21 books in the New Testament -- how many can you name? Open randomly to one of the books you named, select a verse, read it and ask what meaning it has in your life. Download a copy of the Bible to your computer or iphone.
(The song THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS was written in the 16th century to teach the basic tenets of the Christian Faith to children. It is Christianity 101 wrapped in a song. Feel free to forward this to a friend. You can watch the whole 12 days of Christmas grow on my blog. http://mossfromarollingstone.blogspot.com
On the second day of Christmas my TRUE LOVE (GOD) gave to ME…TWO TURTLE DOVES.
MEANING – ‘TWO TURTLE DOVES’ are the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, which records God’s journey of love and salvation for all people.
SOMETHING TO DO TODAY – there are 39 books in the Old Testament and 21 books in the New Testament -- how many can you name? Open randomly to one of the books you named, select a verse, read it and ask what meaning it has in your life. Download a copy of the Bible to your computer or iphone.
(The song THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS was written in the 16th century to teach the basic tenets of the Christian Faith to children. It is Christianity 101 wrapped in a song. Feel free to forward this to a friend. You can watch the whole 12 days of Christmas grow on my blog. http://mossfromarollingstone.blogspot.com
DAY 1 of THE 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS
Merry Christmas.
I hope that we can reclaim the 12 days of Christmas from Christmas Day to the Eve of the Epiphany.
So I have taken the song THE 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS and added the CHRISTIAN MEANING for each day with a SOMETHING TO DO.
I will post one each day until Jan. 5, next year.
If you like it, forward it to other people.
May the JOY of Christmas and the HOPE of the New Year fill your life.
Hollis Hiscock
DAY 1 – DECEMBER 25 - THE 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS
On the first day of Christmas my TRUE LOVE gave to ME … a PARTRIDGE in a PEAR TREE.
MEANING – ‘TRUE LOVE’ is GOD, the Creator of all we are and have. God’s greatest gift to each of us is JESUS CHRIST (PARTRIDGE), who loved us so much that He died on a cross (PEAR TREE), to save us from sin and death.
SOMETHING TO DO TODAY – wish everyone a MERRY CHRISTMAS.
The song THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS was written in the 16th century to teach the basic tenets of the Christian Faith to children. It is Christianity 101 wrapped in a song. Feel free to forward this to a friend. You can watch the whole 12 days of Christmas grow on my blog. http://mossfromarollingstone.blogspot.com
I hope that we can reclaim the 12 days of Christmas from Christmas Day to the Eve of the Epiphany.
So I have taken the song THE 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS and added the CHRISTIAN MEANING for each day with a SOMETHING TO DO.
I will post one each day until Jan. 5, next year.
If you like it, forward it to other people.
May the JOY of Christmas and the HOPE of the New Year fill your life.
Hollis Hiscock
DAY 1 – DECEMBER 25 - THE 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS
On the first day of Christmas my TRUE LOVE gave to ME … a PARTRIDGE in a PEAR TREE.
MEANING – ‘TRUE LOVE’ is GOD, the Creator of all we are and have. God’s greatest gift to each of us is JESUS CHRIST (PARTRIDGE), who loved us so much that He died on a cross (PEAR TREE), to save us from sin and death.
SOMETHING TO DO TODAY – wish everyone a MERRY CHRISTMAS.
The song THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS was written in the 16th century to teach the basic tenets of the Christian Faith to children. It is Christianity 101 wrapped in a song. Feel free to forward this to a friend. You can watch the whole 12 days of Christmas grow on my blog. http://mossfromarollingstone.blogspot.com
Thursday, December 16, 2010
HER FIRST CHRISTMAS AS A CHRISTIAN
In 1985, I was writing a regular column in a city newspaper.
I called my Christmas column – ‘Cutting through the Tinsel’. It was a letter to an imaginary friend who was celebrating her first Christmas as a Christian.
After describing the Gospel accounts (Matthew and Luke) surrounding the Birth of Jesus, I attempted to answer her question, ‘What does it all mean?’.
I wrote …
An event is only an incident unless we look behind it for its meaning. On Christmas day, God entered the human sphere in a unique manner. God became human to make humanity divine. It sounds difficult and it is, and that is why some of your friends refuse to go beyond the tinsel of Christmas. They have lost the mystique, the aura which surrounds the birth of Jesus.
What it really means is that God entered human life to show us true love. For the next 30 years or so, Jesus, the name given to the Christ Child, would not only teach people about God, but would also provide a model life for people to follow. Most of His days, like ours, would be happy and carefree, but dark days would appear and He would suffer, die and return to life.
Jesus also showed us what people are. He said that they combine, in a startling manner, the human and the divine. It is almost as if in being human we are also partly godly. Frightening, is it not, especially when you think about how some of us behave towards each other? Jesus, however, demonstrated by example, how we can become full human persons made in the image of God.
In our relationships with each other, He dropped a bombshell. He said that we should treat others as we want them to treat us. A tall order! It is not easy, but Jesus never promised to make life easy. However, He did promise to be with us each day in every situation. He encouraged us to live at peace with ourselves and with others, to be kind to those who are unkind to us, and even to forgive the person who commits a wrong against us. Powerful words which become even more powerful when put into action.
As you enjoy the festivities of your first Christian Christmas, and as Christians generally we should enjoy Christmas, we need to remember the season is also a good opportunity to get right with God, as well as to establish better relations with other human beings. It is a time when hatred can be changed to love, war to peace, enemies to friends and deprivation to prosperity.
Christmas is the season of change when we can be transformed by cradling the Christ child in our hearts and lives.
My Christ present to you is the gladness of Christmas which is Hope, the Spirit of Christmas which is Peace and the Blessing of Christmas which is Love.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holy-Days.
I called my Christmas column – ‘Cutting through the Tinsel’. It was a letter to an imaginary friend who was celebrating her first Christmas as a Christian.
After describing the Gospel accounts (Matthew and Luke) surrounding the Birth of Jesus, I attempted to answer her question, ‘What does it all mean?’.
I wrote …
An event is only an incident unless we look behind it for its meaning. On Christmas day, God entered the human sphere in a unique manner. God became human to make humanity divine. It sounds difficult and it is, and that is why some of your friends refuse to go beyond the tinsel of Christmas. They have lost the mystique, the aura which surrounds the birth of Jesus.
What it really means is that God entered human life to show us true love. For the next 30 years or so, Jesus, the name given to the Christ Child, would not only teach people about God, but would also provide a model life for people to follow. Most of His days, like ours, would be happy and carefree, but dark days would appear and He would suffer, die and return to life.
Jesus also showed us what people are. He said that they combine, in a startling manner, the human and the divine. It is almost as if in being human we are also partly godly. Frightening, is it not, especially when you think about how some of us behave towards each other? Jesus, however, demonstrated by example, how we can become full human persons made in the image of God.
In our relationships with each other, He dropped a bombshell. He said that we should treat others as we want them to treat us. A tall order! It is not easy, but Jesus never promised to make life easy. However, He did promise to be with us each day in every situation. He encouraged us to live at peace with ourselves and with others, to be kind to those who are unkind to us, and even to forgive the person who commits a wrong against us. Powerful words which become even more powerful when put into action.
As you enjoy the festivities of your first Christian Christmas, and as Christians generally we should enjoy Christmas, we need to remember the season is also a good opportunity to get right with God, as well as to establish better relations with other human beings. It is a time when hatred can be changed to love, war to peace, enemies to friends and deprivation to prosperity.
Christmas is the season of change when we can be transformed by cradling the Christ child in our hearts and lives.
My Christ present to you is the gladness of Christmas which is Hope, the Spirit of Christmas which is Peace and the Blessing of Christmas which is Love.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holy-Days.
Monday, November 29, 2010
CHRISTMAS CAROL SUNG AT WAR MEMORIAL
People of St. John’s Church, Rockwood gathered around the town’s War Memorial on Sunday, November 7 and sang ‘Silent Night, Holy Night’. An array of wreaths provided an appropriate symbolic background. The wreaths were laid at the area Remembrance Day ceremony held on Saturday.
It is part of a Canada wide happening in the Anglican Church of Canada, where all parishes are asked to videotape the singing of ‘Silent Night’, which will be made into a documentary, to be shared online.
On Christmas Eve 1914, during the First World War, soldiers on both sides of the conflict called a truce, laid down their weapons and met in ‘no man’s land’. They exchanged greetings and gifts and sang the one Christmas carol known by all – ‘Silent Night, Holy Night’.
The organ in St. Nicholas Church in the Austrian Alps was silent in 1818; some say mice had chewed through the bellows, so the prospect of music at the Christmas worship was indeed bleak. Joseph Mohr, the assistant priest, accepted the challenge and wrote the lyrics to ‘Silent Night’. He asked his friend, Franz Gruber, to set his words to music. Later at the Christmas Midnight Mass, the people sang ‘Silent Night, Holy Night’, accompanied by a guitar, for the first time.
It has been translated into more than 140 languages.
People participating in singing ‘Silent Night, Holy Night’ in Rockwood donated a ‘toonie’ to support the work of the Military Chaplains in the Canadian Forces.
To view our SILENT NIGHT video, and the many others from across Canada, go to http://www.anglican.ca/ and follow the link.
Monday, November 15, 2010
I REMEMBER HER ADVICE .. NOT HER
Ann Sibbit lived on this earth for 102 years.
She died in 1994.
I do not remember ever meeting this woman, who traversed geography and time for more than a century, yet I referred to her in my sermon on October 30, 1994
So she left many footprints for others to see and follow.
Her grand-daughter listed Ann's advice to equip people in 'loving your neighbour as yourself'.
Here is Ann's list ...
A. Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.
B. Start each day with a smile.
C. Believe in yourself and be strong.
D. Don't look for the flaws in others as you go through life, and even if you find them, it is always wise to be somewhat blind and look for the virtues behind the flaws.
E. Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves.
With these principles to guide her life, I think Ann gathered a massive amount of moss as she rolled through more than ten decades.
A philosphy of applied wisdom surpasses the importance of recalling physical characteristics.
She died in 1994.
I do not remember ever meeting this woman, who traversed geography and time for more than a century, yet I referred to her in my sermon on October 30, 1994
So she left many footprints for others to see and follow.
Her grand-daughter listed Ann's advice to equip people in 'loving your neighbour as yourself'.
Here is Ann's list ...
A. Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.
B. Start each day with a smile.
C. Believe in yourself and be strong.
D. Don't look for the flaws in others as you go through life, and even if you find them, it is always wise to be somewhat blind and look for the virtues behind the flaws.
E. Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others cannot keep it from themselves.
With these principles to guide her life, I think Ann gathered a massive amount of moss as she rolled through more than ten decades.
A philosphy of applied wisdom surpasses the importance of recalling physical characteristics.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
LET'S REMEMBER - LEST WE FORGET
Three Boy Scouts walked tall across the green expanse, leading from the sidewalk to the cenotaph. They struggled a little... it's awkward for six short arms to grasp a wreath and carry it in sync without tripping.
But they did. They placed their symbol of remembrance, next to others brought by soldiers, politicians, seniors, community leaders, etc.
They stood in silence, as if they recognized a name carved into the granite monument, erected nearly a century before they were born.
They moved slightly left in unison, removed poppies from their lapels and pinned them on a makeshift cushion to remember unknown soldiers.
Pleased that they had accomplished their orders, they retreated to the safety of the Scouting pack.
A different uniform approached the podium. A medal adorned his chest as he stood at attention and told the waiting minds what it was like to be a veteran of Afghanistan. Veterans are supposed to be much older, not young like this Corporal. His age, no more than double the ages of the Boy Scouts, yet his countenance portrayed a face that had experienced and witnessed more of the horrors of war than some people three times his age.
His voice quavered as he recounted how he and others had 'caught the torch' described by John McCrae in his poem 'In Flanders Fields'. McCrae had challenged future generations of soldiers to 'take up our quarrel with the foe; to you from failing hands we throw the torch; be yours to hold it high'.
We caught the torch and held it high, he pledged.
But at a high price, I thought.
He told about one friend who died in battle, and another who died because he could not cope with what the battle had done to him.
Yet, he declared, 'I am proud to be a Canadian, and I do remember them'.
He urged the nearly 500 listening ears to remember all soldiers, living and dead.
Across the nation, similar scenes are played out in cities and villages, on national stages and lonely outposts, in outdoor venues and hospital wards as Canadians commemorate those who died in service to their country for the causes of 'liberty, justice and peace'.
The paths of the young corporal and the Boy Scouts may never cross again, but they may forever remember this meeting and why they interfaced on a cold November morning in front of a granite monument, surrounded by hundreds of people who gathered together to remember those who sacrificed their lives for them.
Let's hope they remember, lest we all forget.
But they did. They placed their symbol of remembrance, next to others brought by soldiers, politicians, seniors, community leaders, etc.
They stood in silence, as if they recognized a name carved into the granite monument, erected nearly a century before they were born.
They moved slightly left in unison, removed poppies from their lapels and pinned them on a makeshift cushion to remember unknown soldiers.
Pleased that they had accomplished their orders, they retreated to the safety of the Scouting pack.
A different uniform approached the podium. A medal adorned his chest as he stood at attention and told the waiting minds what it was like to be a veteran of Afghanistan. Veterans are supposed to be much older, not young like this Corporal. His age, no more than double the ages of the Boy Scouts, yet his countenance portrayed a face that had experienced and witnessed more of the horrors of war than some people three times his age.
His voice quavered as he recounted how he and others had 'caught the torch' described by John McCrae in his poem 'In Flanders Fields'. McCrae had challenged future generations of soldiers to 'take up our quarrel with the foe; to you from failing hands we throw the torch; be yours to hold it high'.
We caught the torch and held it high, he pledged.
But at a high price, I thought.
He told about one friend who died in battle, and another who died because he could not cope with what the battle had done to him.
Yet, he declared, 'I am proud to be a Canadian, and I do remember them'.
He urged the nearly 500 listening ears to remember all soldiers, living and dead.
Across the nation, similar scenes are played out in cities and villages, on national stages and lonely outposts, in outdoor venues and hospital wards as Canadians commemorate those who died in service to their country for the causes of 'liberty, justice and peace'.
The paths of the young corporal and the Boy Scouts may never cross again, but they may forever remember this meeting and why they interfaced on a cold November morning in front of a granite monument, surrounded by hundreds of people who gathered together to remember those who sacrificed their lives for them.
Let's hope they remember, lest we all forget.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)