In our Advent series we are 12 days in and halfway through the countdown to Christmas.
So there are 12 days left until Christmas day and after that we start the “12 days of Christmas”.
Hopefully that’s not too confusing!

In keeping with the fascination of today’s peculiar date I’ve been reflecting on the number 12 as it appears many times in the Bible, and especially in relation to people.

Jacob, later Israel, had 12 sons who became the 12 heads and names of the 12 tribes of Israel (Ephraim and Manasseh were 1/2 tribes each of what would have been Joseph’s tribe).
Jesus chose 12 men to be his disciples and he their Rabbi. 1 of these betrayed Jesus and killed himself and was replaced by Matthias to make 12 again. These 12 became the first leaders of the Church and were quickly joined by others, including Paul who wrote most of the New Testament letters.
In John’s Revelation we read a description of the new Jerusalem which has 12 foundations representing the 12 apostles and 12 gates representing the 12 tribes of Israel. The gates of this great city are always open and never shut!
And there are lots more…

But I’ve also been reflecting on how 12 features in our day-to-day lives.
Our lives are lived with the number 12 playing an essential role, especially when it comes to time and days. As creatures who are within time – and limited by it – the regularity of ‘12’ day in, day out becomes a part of the rhythm of our lives and in turn a part of us.
It’s so easy for this rhythm, this pace, to so shape our lives that we forget how to stop and be still. The relentless ticking of the clock acts as a constant pressure to keep going, to keep moving and to never just stop.

It’s interesting that it’s often only in the quiet stillness of a room that a ticking clock can be heard. To perceive the presence of ticking time you have to suspend it and be still.

One of the most beautiful Christmas carols is Silent Night.
The words and music work together like a lullaby to gently calm you into a restful state.

Silent night, Holy night
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon Virgin Mother and Child
Holy Infant so tender and mild
Sleep in Heavenly peace
Sleep in Heavenly peace

This image of a newborn Jesus in peaceful sleep is a gift to us in this busy, relentless Christmas season. God could have proclaimed peace from heaven and we would know it, yet there’s something much more powerful and tangible about the God of the universe resting in peaceful sleep as a newborn baby which brings it right home for us.
Jesus has come to bring us peace – his “shalom”.
In his final hours with his disciples he said these words:
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” (John 14:27 ESV)

This advent may you find time to stop so you can hear time and know that you don’t have to be bound by it.
May you rest in the peace of Jesus which surpasses all understanding and may your troubled hearts be stilled.
May you receive His shalom and be still to know that He is God.