“On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, a partridge in a pear tree.” (“The Twelve Days Of Christmas”). Partridges are ground dwelling birds. They don't build their nests in trees, or perch in trees, or even get that high off of the ground if they can help it. A partridge does not belong in a pear tree. Just as there is no reason to put a partridge in a pear tree, there was no reason for Jesus Christ to be placed on the cross. Jesus had committed no sin or crime that was worthy of death. The Jews accused Him of blasphemy, the one person on Earth for whom blasphemy was basically impossible. They told the Romans that He was an insurrectionist, but Jesus admitted to Pilate that He had no interest in interfering with Caesar's empire, as His kingdom was not of this world. Jesus did not try to deny the accusations or defend His words or His actions. Leaving aside the arguments He might have made to successfully stay the execution, even as they were marching Him up the hill to Golgotha or at any other point He could have prayed to His Father to send down twelve legions of angels to protect Him. No, Jesus allowed Himself to be lifted up onto that cross where He did not belong and to be crucified for crimes that He did not commit, so that He could pay for the sins of all of God's children even as He remained sinless. His life He gave for us is a gift in every sense of the word. It is a gift He gives us every day, just like every day of the twelve days of Christmas the partridge climbs up into the pear tree even though it's afraid of heights because of the true love it feels for us.
