St. Patrick Presbyterian Church, Epc

If internet origin stories are to be believed, the “Twelve Days of Christmas” song is not about an eccentric bird lover at all, but is a coded catechism in which each number corresponds to a foundational doctrine of the faith. It’s not a likely story, but it is still a really fun application for the song. In fact, I use it this way with my own family throughout the Christmastide season. We add a new verse each night as we talk about one Savior, two testaments, three virtues, four gospels, and the like.  The famous five gold rings are supposedly the Law of Moses, or Torah. You might sometimes hear the word “Pentateuch” used, which simply means “five books.” These five are the foundational stories of the Hebrew faith and the bedrock of all other Scripture. Just like the less obvious bird gifts, even the books that don’t seem to have anything to do with them are still just riffing on the books of Torah. Here we have the people, place, presence, and promises of God laid out, to which all the rest of Scripture res