I would like to confess here and now that I am an utter fool for the Christmas season. In many ways, I never gave up the attachment I had as a child to the environment of this season, whether it’s the cheesy holiday music, the overstimulation of decorations and light shows, the gift displays in every big box store that gets put up way too early, and the whole slew of Christmas themed movies, from the more modern Hallmark channel variety to the good old black and white classics. So once we turn the corner of Thanksgiving, I always find myself thrown back into the place of that little boy who always kept asking why my relatives brought me presents early, when Santa didn't come until later that night. And of course, once the Christmas season begins, out comes the various boxes of decorations, ornaments, lights and of course the giant pre-lit LED modern tree.
But this year, obviously, is the one that is different on so many levels. With the pandemic, we have all found ourselves more isolated from family and loved ones than ever before. Celebrating the holidays has now been relegated to what you can make happen in your home. Personally, I have experienced it very differently for a whole slew of reasons that I have spoken about this year: a divorce, joint custody of my autistic son—and so now seeing him half of the time, my mother going into an assisted living facility and my family home being sold. Now when I decorate my small apartment and get it prepared for the season, I am taking out my now much smaller pre-lit LED tree, decorated with several of the special family ornaments saved from my mother, a small nativity set, and a set of advent candles. There is also an electronic dancing Santa, a snow globe Christmas train and various other smaller decorations strewn about my apartment. Of special importance however, is something that we don’t normally associate with Christmas, but something that fits perfectly with the holiday still, especially this year, and that is a menorah.
Why would any Christian who professes his love and affection for Christmas so wildly have the symbol of a Jewish holiday as part of his celebration? Well for one, my ex-wife was raised Jewish. Although she eventually converted to Christianity, we had a long history of celebrating the major Jewish holidays together, either at our home or with friends and family. So my son has also always had that experience, and it is something I want to make sure he still feels a connection to. But there is an even deeper, more profound meaning than that. It relates to the Jewish foundations of our Christian faith, as I learned being around so many Jewish people through our church. The fact is: Jesus was Jewish. He lived his life as a devout, practicing Jew. Much of the Gospel accounts revolve around Jewish holidays, or have a significance to the narrative that is only fully understood if you understand it through the lens of Judaism.
Photo credit: beyondthecusp.wordpress.com.
With respect to Hanukkah, there is one very specific reference to the holiday in the Gospel of John: "At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon" (John 10:22-23, ESV). While that is the only reference to the holiday, it is significant in that it was mentioned. Early Jewish readers would have connected it to a real holiday (Feast of Dedication is another name for Hanukkah), and it would have highlighted Jesus's Jewish origins. The holiday has a very special background and meaning in the history of not just the Jewish people, but the people of God altogether. So what is the big deal about it anyway?
The story of Hanukkah is a miraculous example of God’s love and providence. It recalls the victory of Judas Maccabeus and the Jewish people over Antiochus IV, the Seleucid (Syrian) king who attempted to eliminate the religious freedom of the Jewish people in 165 BC. After his victory, Judas ordered the cleansing and restoration of the temple, which had been desecrated by the Syrians. As part of the rededication, the temple menorah was attempted to be lit, however there was only enough oil to last for one night—which instead lasted eight nights. It was considered a miracle, and the celebration was known as the “feast of dedication” from then on.
Today, Hanukkah is a reminder of God providing a miraculous triumph over incredible odds, much like the Exodus from Egypt, or David’s defeat of Goliath. If, as a Christian, I put my faith in a God who delivered His people from evil and destruction in those and many other situations, then the events of Hanukkah should logically go together with all of those. Perhaps it even has a unique and special meaning, since it happened so near the historical birth of Jesus. It is mentioned in John’s Gospel and would have been something in the more recent collective memories of the Jews of John’s time.
Hanukkah just doesn’t seem to fit with the Christmas season, because of it falling in roughly the same month on the calendar. But it also emphasizes the light that came into the world in a time of darkness.
We always celebrated Hanukkah in some form when I was married, but now that I am divorced I thought about how I wanted to keep the holiday alive, and celebrate it with my son in a way special to us. I purchased a Hanukkah devotional for Christians on Amazon, and every night when we would light a candle, I shared the passage for that night out loud for my son. What struck me about this particular devotional were the ways in which it not only highlighted the significance of Hanukkah for Jews and Christians, but also how much of a reminder it was of God’s rescue in the most difficult times.
While the devotional was not written during or with COVID in mind, it wasn’t hard to appreciate the perspective of the author as he communicated that sentiment throughout the book. The regular act of lighting the menorah each night, among the Christmas lights and Advent candles, helped bring a sense of peace to my heart, even with all of the difficulties of 2020. But there was an even greater message related to all of this that I encountered during this past holiday season.
In December, my church had a guest speaker one Sunday, the rabbi of the Messianic Jewish temple that meets at our church on Saturdays. He sometimes would come and do a guest sermon every now and then, or teach a class on Sunday mornings before services. I always loved listening to him, because I always learned so much, not just about Judaism, but more importantly, how the Old and New Testaments connected to each other. He gave an even greater understanding of many of the stories in the gospels, when explained through the lens of Judaism. This particular Sunday, I stayed at home and watched the service online, and although the topic of the sermon was obviously Christmas and the Nativity story, it highlighted a specific part of the story from the Gospel of Luke. It was Mary's song of praise, also known as “the Magnificat,” which she sings to the Lord after being given the news by the angel Gabriel that she would bear God’s son. While many sermons and messages during the Christmas season focus on this event, the rabbi made a very interesting point about the significance of her song.
The rabbi reminded us that the song that Mary sings is not actually a “new” song of praise, or anything that just grabs and inspires her in the moment. It is related to Psalm 146, which is referred to as “The Magnificat of the Old Testament.” The psalm echoes some of the same praises that Mary would sing when getting the good news from Gabriel, but this time, about 1,000 years after the psalm that David authored.
Photo credit: Schmalen.com.
The larger point the rabbi made was that Mary was essentially singing a song of the history of her people, the chosen people of God. It was a song not just of hope and promises, but of celebrating the incredible things God had already accomplished in her own family line, and that the birth of Jesus was the next miracle to come. In that respect, Mary had absolutely no reason to doubt what Gabriel told her, because she had seen God work in the stories she was told from her childhood. The promises God had made centuries before would come to life through her now.
I pondered and meditated on this thought a lot during the Christmas season, as I considered not just the state of the world and the incredible amount of fear and anxiety COVID had created, but also in my own personal life. I looked at all of the trauma that I have been through, that I mentioned above. Now that I have had a chance to catch my proverbial breath and look back with some perspective, I can ask the truly hard question in all of this: do I believe the God who carried me through so many difficulties and challenges in the past will carry me through this one as well, or do I think this time is somehow different, that He won’t show up?
Maybe I needed to reflect on the strength of my faith, and to be inspired by the faith of Mary in this particular season. Not the strength or confidence of any of the Old Testament heroes or kings, not the bravery of Peter or Paul, or any of the first missionaries who carried the gospel to the corners of the known world, not even the voice of the watchmen and prophets of old. Rather, the quiet knowing of a lowly teenage girl that her God was alive and present with her, that the promises made to her were as good as those made to her ancestors. She had seen God work in the stories of their lives, and He would certainly work in hers.
I pray to have that strength of conviction every day as I move through the new year, and that on the days when my faith may falter, that I would sing a song of praise of the things already done, just as Mary did. My prayer for you, the reader, is just the same.
John Felageller has spent over 15 years in education, working with children from Infants to Middle School, serving in a variety of roles including Teacher, Mentor Teacher and School Director. John lives in Highwood, IL and is a single father to his son Christopher (ASD), and is currently a Special Education teacher in Chicago, IL. He is a regular contributor to Key Ministry’s Special Needs Family blog, as well as other special needs blogs including Hope Anew and The Mighty. Connect with John on his website: www.johnfelageller.com.
