On the eleventh day of Christmas
my true love gave to me
eleven pipers piping.

Throughout our journey through the 12 days of Christmas, some have made a lot of sense and others have been a little more of a stretch to connect the gift with the meaning. This is one that makes a lot of sense. Eleven pipers piping. After all, what would you expect a piper to do?

The eleventh gift is one of people doing what they are expected to be doing. A carpenter works with wood. An electrician works with electric. A mechanic works on cars. So it only makes sense that a piper, well pipes! But what does this have to do with the Bible and even more so with Christmas?

These eleven pipers are symbolic of the disciples. You see in the bible there are twelve apostles who are called to follow Jesus. They all have their short comings but one of them takes his role less seriously than the rest. Of the twelve only eleven remained faithful to Jesus. Only eleven of them actually followed Jesus through the good and bad times. Sure they left Him when He needed them most but they didn’t go quite as far as the twelfth guy, Judas.

So on this eleventh day of Christmas we celebrate the eleven disciples who remained faithful and kept, well piping away at the message of Jesus and his work in the world. They were like good pipers who just kept playing the songs given them. They were disciples whose main job it was to follow Jesus. And this is what they did.

What about you and me – you might be asking…

That’s another easy connection to be sure. Not only did Jesus call the twelve in the New Testament of the Bible to follow Him but he also calls you and me today as well. We are called to follow from His humble beginnings in a manger for a cradle. We are to follow Jesus throughout His life all the way to the cross and then we’re invited to participate in His crown as well. The days following Christmas through the first part of the New Year, we at Living Word Galena will be looking at Jesus’ journey from Cradle to Cross to Crown. We’d love to have you come along for the trip. Join us on Sunday mornings at 10:30am or check back here for our weekly messages.