Fourth

"To you is born this day in the city of David a Savior," Luke 2:11.

Well, today is the fourth day of Christmas, according to folks who keep such time. (You know, the day for the four calling birds.) And you thought Christmas was over! Nossir! The dozen days of fame end only on January 6, celebrated as the Epiphany, that is, the day of the Manifestation (when God showed up as a human being, Jesus being born, right?). Actually, January 7 is the celebration, but we won't quibble. But, we say, it's not the date, but the fact of Jesus' birth that we celebrate, even if quaint folk celebrate Jesus' birth on the wrong day. Now, that's the point: the earliest followers of Jesus, for the better part of two centuries, did not celebrate his birth on any day. What they did celebrate, without fail, every week, was his death, burial, and resurrection. What he asked his people to remember. Communion. Hope.

We fellowship with a brother or sister today, and speak of the confident expectation of resurrection after death. And, together, we give thanks to God for his son's humble, life giving obedience.