The Fourth Day of Bringing Gifts – December 15, 2012
“On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me…four  calling  birds, three  French  hens,  two turtle doves,  and a partridge  in a pear tree.”
In the imagination of church tradition the four calling birds refer to the fourfold call of the Gospels  of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
There is more than one way to respond to Jesus. And we will find more accounts of them  than four if we take to heart  Jesus’ words  at the end of the Gospels, “I have still more to say to you,” as we grow in his Spirit, although not until then (John 16:12).  So it is that on the brink of travel to the new world,  our Pilgrim forefather,  the Rev. John Robinson, said, “The Lord has more truth and light yet to break  forth out of his holy word.”
While  God has more to say – “God is still speaking!” – holy Word has already  been  spoken  in the four Gospels. These are considered “canonical,” originally  meaning “measuring line, rule, and standard of excellence.” Of all the accounts of Jesus available at the time, the accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were selected as the best – just as everywhere in ancient times particularly beautiful birds were selected as the best representations of glory, exaltation, favor, and help from on high.
How do each  of the four Gospels  call to you from on high? At root, all offer much  the same story. But in Matthew  we receive  the forms of the Beatitudes  and the Lord’s Prayer that have become practically Christian ID badges. Mark proceeds at a breathless pace  and the word “immediately” recurs,  describing his feeling about responding to Jesus now,  not later. Luke begins  by placing Jesus and the story of Christianity  in the broader context of history. John’s Gospel  soars above  the others  in grandiosity, setting the backdrop of a cosmic  event.
Just “four birds” representing four altogether human authors. But how beautiful! What a gift! Beginning  with who we are and just what we have,  our own gifts can soar, too! The spirits of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John can lift our own generosity  higher  than we imagine, in the name  of Christ.
According  to an annual study by a national financial institution, the cost of four calling  birds is approximately $520. To explore  the life-giving possibilities of a $520  gift to the Christmas  Fund for the Veterans  of the Cross and the Emergency  Fund, visit http://bit.ly/CF12_12_12-4.