 -Pastor Melissa Fain- 12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. 16 You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. 17 I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another. John 15:12-17 NRSV Did you know Church is full of symbols? Symbols are when we use an idea or object to help us understand something better. Many churches light a candle or candles at the beginning of worship. Remember Christ’s light? Lighting candles at the beginning of worship is a symbol of Christ’s light being with those in worship. Many churches also use colors. There are colors for the time of year: Purple/blue, white, green, red. These colors tell Christians what season they are in. Many churches this time of year are full of purple or blue. This means “prepare.” The church uses those colors leading up to Christmas or Easter. There are also colors connected to certain Bible characters. Mary is often painted wearing blue. Blue is the color of the sky and therefore a heavenly color. Remember, we made Mary out of blue paper. Some symbols have made their way into our homes. The candy cane is a great example. It is said a Choir Master in Germany gave them to the kids. Before this, candy canes were simply white peppermint sticks. He asked the candy maker to bend the end of the rod so the children would remember the Good Shepherd, and the shepherds that visited baby Jesus at his birth. Later, the red stripes would be added so the white would remind us of Christ’s sinlessness and the red his sacrifice on the cross. Today, millions of people hang candy canes on their Christmas trees. It serves as a sweet reminder of God’s love for us. Question: What’s a symbol you’ve seen, and what does it mean? Prayer: Dear God, help us see you in the world through symbols and actions. Amen. Places to connect:
To see or share pictures of the Advent Adventure Crafts: Twitter: @FigTreeTweet, #AdventAdventure For deeper discussion: Reddit: www.Reddit.com/r/FigTreeChristian |
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