A Great Miracle Happened Here

We are in the Season of Miracles here in Jerusalem. Christmas and Hanukka both began on Christmas Eve, with lots of trees, doughnuts, menorahs and gift giving all joined together. It’s true that Hanukka and Christmas often coincide close together, however the last time there was a direct overlap of these holidays was in 1978. And Christ Church was once again packed with Israeli visitors for Christmas Eve. Approximately 2500 of them braved the cold conditions and came to listen and celebrate a miracle. 

Christmas and Hanukka share some interesting similarities. Both have become heavily commercialized, attractive and popular due to cultural and business pressures. Both come with terrible post-holiday traffic. Both come with special foods, warm spiced wine for Christmas and doughnuts and latkes for Hanukka. This year, the ultra-orthodox Minister of Health in Israel told us doughnuts were unhealthy and recommended we only eat one on Hanukka! Both have had many traditions that are not part of the story introduced to them. Christmas is celebrated on the 25th of December and Hanukka is celebrated on the 25th of Kislev. Both have extended Feast days. Hanukka is for 8 days and Christmas has a season of 12 days. Both holidays recall a Great Miracle done by the God of Heaven for His people. The Miracles require more than just one day to fully appreciate and internalize, so we have 8-12 days to ponder and dwell on the mystery. 

Most people would ascribe the Miracle of the Virgin birth and the advent of Messiah as the Miracle that is being celebrated at Christmas. Note that people are not celebrating the Birthday of the Messiah rather the Birth of the Messiah, as the actual day of birth is not recorded. It was not a Jewish tradition to record birthdays during the 2nd Temple Period. However, the Gospels do indeed record His birth and the celebration of that event was added to the Calendar. And I know I have said it before on this blog but it’s worth mentioning again - Christmas does not replace a pagan holiday of the Winter Solstice. This is a mantra I have heard so many times from Christians and secular alike. It’s a false claim that has become unfortunately set in stone. None of the early Church Fathers make a mention of the date or pagan holiday replacement. The Greeks predate the Catholics as the closest to the original Church and obviously did not choose to replace the Winter Solstice, which falls on the Dec 21st, as Greek Christmas is on the 7th January. And the Armenian Orthodox (who are actually the very first nation to embrace Christianity in the year 271 AD) have their Christmas in Jerusalem on the 18th January. 

Most people would ascribe the Miracle of the Oil as the Miracle that is attributed to Hanukka. Hanukka comes from the verb ‘to dedicate’, and celebrates the rededication of a purified Temple following a successful Jewish revolt against the Seleucid Greeks. The events are recorded in the Books of the Maccabees, of which there are 4 Books of Maccabees. Interestingly, the Jewish people celebrate Hanukka, an event recorded in Books that are only preserved in Catholic and Orthodox Christian Bibles. If you actually read the Books of the Maccabees you note an absence of one major event - there is no Miracle! There is no mention of Oil or how the Menorah burned with Light for 8 days as new Oil was produced. Why not? What happened?Why did they miss including such a special event that is now synonymous with Hanukka? So when did the Oil appear in the story of Hanukka? Actually, the Miracle of the Oil appears very late in the 6th Century in the Talmud, that’s 600 years after the Maccabees. The real Miracle in the Books of the Maccabees is that a small non-trained Jewish army defeated the mighty Greeks, one of the most well-equipped, well-funded Superpowers of the day. God once again fought for His people. 

The Rabbis and Sages did not agree with the Messianic theology of the Maccabees. The Maccabean nationalism believed they could hasten the redemption of the Messiah through violence and that they themselves played a part of the messianic agenda of God. They even killed their Jewish opponents who disagreed with them. The Maccabees slaughtered the Pharisees in mass crucifixion. A death penalty they had adopted from the Greeks and Romans. In revenge the Rabbis failed to mention or write about the Maccabees during the Mishnaic period (that’s between 100 BC and 200 AD), trying to downplay the disastrous nationalistic fervour of the Maccabees which had resulted in successfully getting rid of the Greeks only to invite the invasion of the Romans and subsequent destruction of the Temple. It was only much later that the Rabbis of the Babylonian Talmud sought to replace the Miracle of a military victory with a Miracle from God. They did a play on words with the Maccabees. In Hebrew the Maccabees descend from the HaShmonim family. Shemen in Hebrew means oil. Ha-Shemen means ‘the oil’ and sounds similar to HaShmonim. Thus was born the Miracle of the Oil, 600 years after the military victory over the Greeks and the rededication of the Temple. 

The Gospels record Jesus being in Jerusalem during the Feast of Dedication. As that was indeed what was being celebrated, the rededication of the Temple and the relighting of the Menorah in the Temple. Josephus (Jewish Historian) records the Feast as the Festival of Lights, as the focus was on the rekindling of Light in the Temple. Light in Jewish tradition symbolizes the presence of God. God was once again with His people. The military victory of the Maccabees was indeed a Miracle and it is worth recording and celebrating. God has many times in the past fought for His people and He will do so again. For the sake of His great Name. 

In the Prayer Book of the Jewish people today there is only one Prayer for Hanukka. Which shows you how unimportant the Rabbis are actually trying to make it. And it has no mention of the Miracle of Oil at all, rather it mentions the many miracles God has done for His people through the ages. I apologize if this disappoints some people who really like the idea of the oil miracle. However, we, both Jews and Christians, have taken many traditions and added them to the stories we celebrate. Christmas trees, Santa Claus, the three Wise Men have imbedded themselves in the Christmas Story. The Gospels record no trees, Santa was actually a generous 4th Century Bishop, and we are not told the number of Magi from the East. The truth is that God has done Great Miracles for us and our forefathers. The greatest Miracle was the Messiah. And we are indebted to recall all the wondrous Miracles God has done. We are in a Season of Miracles. The world is in a bit of a mess and we need to pray for God to continue to do more Miracles for us this year. 

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukka.

Day of Atonement

Yom Kippur 5777, the most sacred of days in the Jewish Calendar has begun. Stores have closed, the roads are silent of moving vehicles, even the traffic lights have stopped working and flash intermittently in orange as they themselves rest from directing cars. Israeli television ceases broadcasting with Netflix joining in the solemness of the day by withholding all program streaming. Surprisingly for such a Most Holy Day the Bible provides few details on how Israel is to conduct herself on this day. In Leviticus 16vs29-30 we read, In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and you shall not do any work … For on that day He shall provide atonement for you to cleanse you from all your sins before the Lord.

Yom Kippur is a Sabbath (Lev 23vs32) and no work is done. Like all weekly Sabbaths the day is 25 hours long. The regular weekly Sabbath is such a good day that we steal an extra hour from Sunday. Sunday, the first day of the week is thus only 23 hours long. On Yom Kippur the Bible records that we are instructed to gather in Assembly and Afflict the Soul. Despite God’s seriousness of destroying people who perform work on this day, or do not afflict themselves (Lev23vs30) there is little information on what to actually do when we Assemble and exactly how to effectively Afflict the Soul. Traditionally, no food or drink is taken, no bathing is allowed, white clothes are worn to reflect on the verse in Isaiah that our sins will be as white a wool (Isaiah 1vs18) and married couples refrain from intimacy. There are three prescribed daily prayers in Jewish tradition, a fourth is added during Shabbat, and on Yom Kippur there is a fifth prayer. The liturgy during Yom Kippur is more extensive than usual, requiring a special prayer book to collate the prayers together. One of the special prayers for Yom Kippur is called Al Chet meaning “All Sins”. It is a confession of 44 sins, a large portion of them having to do with the Tongue. 

Leviticus 23vs26 notes that the day is actually called יום הכיפורים Yom HaKippurim. It’s plural. Literally the Day of Atonements. Leviticus 16 provides some more details on this plurality. The first person to be atoned for is the Priest (Lev 16vs6). Once the Priest is atoned then the community is atoned through the goat of the sin offering (Lev 16vs9-10), and lastly the Temple itself is atoned for (Lev 16vs20). The Day of Atonement provides for the Priest, the People and the Temple. In that order. But how did it work? Which sins are forgiven? Was repentance required, which is not mentioned in the text or did the ritual cover everything? According to the Rabbis in the Mishnah (a collection of 2nd Temple Period Jewish commentary), a contrite and repentant heart was of utmost importance. No one could intentionally sin and expect the ritual act to make everything right. Rituals assist in directing thoughts, confessions and prayers.  They promote boundaries. But without the Intention of the Heart, a ritual is devoid of meaning. We should remember that it is God Himself who institutes ritual and also Commands that the Torah be written on our hearts (Deut 6vs6). 

The Book of Jonah is read and studied during Yom Kippur in the synagogue. Serving to remind people that repentance can be done on any day, not just Yom Kippur. And also that salvation belongs to the Gentiles too. God is the King of the Universe, not just the King of Israel.

Yom Kippur is for making atonement with Heaven. For the sins committed between Man and God. But what about the sins committed between Man and Man? Good question. Yom Kippur falls on the 10th of Tishri. Tishri is named after the Babylonian god of creation/beginnings. The Hebrew Bible records the name of the month as being the Seventh month. Just as days of the week were simply named Day One, Day Two, so too were the months. During the Babylonian captivity the Jewish community integrated elements of the Babylonian calendar including the names for months. They also changed the New Year from being Aviv (modern day Nisan) in the Spring to being in the Fall. Thus Rosh HaShanah, the Jewish New Year now occurs in the Fall whereas the Hebrew Bible records the year to begin in the Spring (Exodus 12vs2). According to tradition; Adam and Eve were created on the 1st of Tishri. 

The 10 day period between Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur is known as the 10 days of Awe. Getting right between Man and Man is conducted with urgency in the Days of Awe, asking forgiveness from the sins we have done to our fellow Man. Interestingly we spend one day getting right with God and 10 days getting right with Man. Similarly in the New Testament we can note the emphasis on forgiving our fellow man in the Lord’s Prayer, Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. And also in Jesus’ urging to make right with our brothers before coming to the Altar of God (Matthew 5vs23). Getting right with God is incredibly important. God said that this Yom Kippur was to be a lasting ordinance that is to be celebrated for all generations. However, the Lord doesn't want that at the expense of broken human relationships. 

Unity Attracts God's Presence

The Jewish People have just finished celebrating Shavuot. Shavuot in the Hebrew Bible is a purely agrarian harvest festival that during the Second Temple Period become theologically attributed to the Giving of the Torah on Mt Sinai. It is at this time in the Jewish calendar that we ask ourselves this question: What was the purpose of the Exodus? If your first reaction is to say it was to get the Israelites to the Promised Land then you'd be mistaken. If the purpose of the redemption from Egypt was to get a bunch of Hebrews into Canaan, then God would have given better directions. He would have said to Moses, 'Get over the river, hang a left, when you come to the Mediterranean turn right and you can't miss it.' Pretty simple, turn left then right. The point of the Exodus is to bring the people to Mt Sinai. And what happened at Sinai? Pentecost happened (Shavout in Hebrew). Not just the giving of the Torah, but the fact that God revealed Himself to His people for the first time. 

What did the Hebrews know about God while they had been in Egypt for 430 years? To be honest, not very much. They had no Temple, they had no priests, they had no prophets and they had no Bible. What they had were a few campfire stories about the Creation of the world, then the world went bad and then there was some guy with a big boat and a rainbow, followed by a wandering nomad called Abraham and now they are all here. They knew they had a God but they didn't know much about Him. Then with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm He redeems His people from darkness and brings them to Himself at Sinai and reveals Himself. The first commandment isn't actually a commandment, it’s God’s business card. He says, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out the land of Egypt ...” Redemption always leads to Revelation. Notice the Israelites were saved from Egypt and then given the Torah. The Torah doesn't save you, they were already saved from Egypt. The same theology is in the New Testament. ‘While I was a sinner, Christ died for me.’ (Romans 5vs8). I didn’t hear about Jesus and then He died on the cross, He already had. 

We all have our personal Exodus stories of how God redeemed us from darkness, but He never left us there. That was never the end of our history. He always follows up revealing His character and Will to us.  

Thus if the purpose of the Exodus is revelation and an encounter with God, why does it take God 50 days before He actually shows up and reveals Himself? If it was that important, surely He would have come sooner. Good question I hear you ask. Exodus 19vs1-2 says that during the third month after they had left Egypt, the Israelites came to Sinai and made camp. What is interesting about verse 2 is that in the Hebrew text it says Israel made camp twice. 

Jewish people read the Bible with a fine tooth comb, so the question is raised, Why does the text mention they made camp twice? Is that not redundant? A closer look reveals that the first time they made camp the verb ‘to camp’ was in the plural. The second time they make camp the verb switches to singular. They camped as one, and only then does God show up. What we learn from this is that unity is something that attracts the Almighty. The Rabbis comment by saying that Israel finally stopped fighting amongst themselves, they stopped squabbling over who has which tent and who gets which portion of food, they stopped arguing with each other and got it together. They were united for the first time since they left Egypt, they were one, and unity is something that attracts God. This occurred at Shavuot (Pentecost in the Greek). 

Acts 2 and the Pentecost in Jerusalem similarly reflects the Pentecost of Mt Sinai. Acts 2 describes the disciples being all together and notes they were of one accord. Just as the people were in the desert, here the text is very careful to mention that the disciples were united. It’s in their unity that the Holy Spirit came and God showed up. 

If unity is so important to attracting the presence of God this begs the next question, What then is unity? Unity is not something theological or ideological. It’s not one-two-three everyone think like me. Unity in the biblical sense is behavioural. Colossians 3vs12-14 instructs us to clothe ourselves with compassion for each other, with kindness, humility and gentleness, and patience. To bear with each other despite the offence and to forgive each other. To wrap all this in love and this will be our unity. Unity is functional, practical, revealed in behaviour and a magnet for attracting God. When Jesus Himself prays for us it is so that we might be one, to be united. There is no force greater than a united community. And we will have the promise of Jesus that He will be with us, His presence, until the end of the age. 

The Command to Remember

What is the most common Command that God gives His people in the Bible? Many of us immediately leap to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and strength”. And while Jesus agreed that this was the most important command, it never the less is not the most common. Another popular answer given when I ask this question is, “Fear Not!”. Indeed, that was my first response too. And again, while ‘Fear Not’ is right up there in frequency, with the Angels, God and the Messiah constantly having to instruct practically every human they meet ‘not to be afraid’, it too is not the most common command. 

God commands us to Remember more times than any other command. Why? Because we are a very forgetful people. Our society is full of distractions. We are distracted by our technology, our smart phones and smart TV’s, our jobs and even our ministries. But God doesn't desire us to be a distracted people and He asks us to Remember! 

Memory is not sitting and thinking on the past. Recalling events, times and places before Alzheimers or Dementia sets in. Memory in the Hebraic tradition is more than that. Even God remembers! Does it mean that God forgets? No, of course not. Forgetting is something God cannot do. So what does it mean to Remember? What does it mean for God to remember? Firstly, Remembering is not the opposite of Forgetting, not in the Jewish sense. 

When is the first time the Bible records God remembering? In Genesis 8, it is written that God remembered Noah. Does this mean that after God instructed Noah to build the Ark, shut him inside and flooded the world with the deluge that He then returned to Heaven and forgot about him? Perhaps sometime later Michael the Archangel politely tapped God on the shoulder and said ‘Almighty One, Blessed be He, there appears to be a man down here with a large boat and he thinks he knows you!’ … and God responds; ‘Oh my, how long have you been floating down there Noah? 150 days! Wow, it must stink fierce with all those animals! Ok, I need wind, let’s pull the plug on the water, I need a rainbow, a few birds and an olive branch .. let’s go people!’

‘God remembered Noah and all the living creatures .. which were with him in the Ark and God made a wind blow over the earth, and the waters subsided’ Genesis 8vs1. God also remembers Rachel and opens up her womb in Genesis 30vs22. God hears the groaning of the Israelites in Egypt and He remembers His covenant with Abraham in Exodus 2vs24 and brings about their redemption. When God remembers, He acts. To Remember spurs you into action. At least it should, as Remembering is closely associated with Doing. As Jesus says, ‘Do this to Remember Me!’ From a Hebraic perspective, you Remember by Doing. 

God asks us to remember what He has done, to remember His teaching, guidance and instruction and His wondrous acts of redemption. In the act of remembering His generosity, His mercy, grace and love, this should spurs us into action. We will respond by being better disciples of Jesus. By being generous, merciful, gracious and loving…and Doing! 

The Calendar is a great tool to help us remember. In our distracted world and daily lives, the Calendar marks events of God’s action and intervention in Creation. Through remembering Feasts and Festivals, and as discussed you Remember by Doing, thus you participate in the Sacred Time. At Passover we remember and celebrate redemption, at Christmas the birth of Messiah, at Hanuakkah Gods provision and miracles, at Purim of His constant hand of protection, on Shabbat of the blessings of rest and the future Sabbath to come. Just name a few of the themes at each Festival. These times of Remembering should prompt us to act in our fallen world and heal Creation with the Gospel of the risen Jesus the Messiah.

Sacred Time and Calendars

What is the first thing God made Holy? Time. During the Creation at the close of every day, God said ‘It is good’. On Day 3 He said it was good twice. No explanation as to why is given. So, Day 3 of the week, that’s Tuesday, is known in the Jewish tradition as the Day of Double Blessing, because God had blessed that day twice. It’s the day of the week in which people get married, big business decisions are signed and it’s the day people go out and purchase lottery tickets. We see in the Gospel of John, Jesus’s first miracle of Water into Wine is introduced by saying, ‘On the third day of the week, a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee.’  John 2vs1

However, on Day 7 of Creation, God changed His description of the day. On Day 7 He makes the Sabbath and declares ‘This is Holy’. The first thing God makes Holy is Time. In particular the time known as the Sabbath. Time is very important to God and special Time is Holy. 

What is the first command God gives His people when they leave Egypt and cross the Red Sea? Go make a calendar! (That’s a paraphrase) In Exodus 12 the Lord commands the people to start a Calendar system, naming Aviv as the first month of the year. In this new calendar His people are commanded to mark the 14th of Aviv as Passover and to celebrate the Passover every year. Further on in the Torah, God sets out a list of Feasts and Festivals in Leviticus 23. 

Leviticus 23 presents a religious and agrarian based calendar for God’s people to follow. These are aptly named the Feasts of the Lord. Not the Feasts of Israel. These are God’s appointed times, and there are many blessings for the believer in keeping, engaging and celebrating these Holy Times. Both for the Jewish and gentile Believer. Some have argued that because Thanksgiving and Christmas do not appear on this list in Lev 23, we should not celebrate them. However we should note that both Purim and Hanukkah are not included in Lev 23 and yet we find Jesus at the festival of Hanukkah in Jerusalem (John 10). Somehow new Feasts and Festivals had entered the Jewish Calendar. Is that OK we ask ourselves? 

The Jewish Calendar has had several changes over its history. All Calendars do. The current Jewish Calendar months are named after Babylonian gods. The names were incorporated into the calendar during the Babylonian exile. For example, in Exodus the month of Passover is called Aviv, referring to the month in which barley was ripe. After Babylon the month is called Nisan. The Book of Esther, occurring after the Babylonians and during Persian reign, names the month as Nisan. At the end of the Esther story a new Feast has been added to the Calendar. A new precedence had been introduced. ’These days should be remembered and observed in every generation and in every family …’ Esther 10vs28 

Further more, in Exodus 12 the month of Aviv/Nisan was declared by God to be the first month and thus Rosh HaShanah, the start of the year, was to be in Aviv which is the Spring. During the Babylonian captivity Jewish people adopted the pagan practice of celebrating the New Year in the Fall. And thus the current Jewish Calendar now has the New Year in the Fall. Does this mean then that the Jewish Calendar needs to be abandoned because it includes the names of Pagan gods? Obviously 14 million Jewish People around the world, with all the Rabbis and Sages though history don't seem to think so. 

Hanukkah is a great celebration of redemption, dedication and God’s provision. But it too is not in the Levitical list. Rather the book that details the actual events the holiday celebrates is not in the Hebrew Bible at all. It is in the Catholic Bible. Yet Hanukkah also is added to the list of Sacred Times. Again the precedent has been set by the Jewish People that the Calendar can be adjusted as God moves in History. 

Sacred Time holds a very important function in our daily life. Feasts and Festival help us in remembering what God has done. We can get so distracted with the trials and stress of life that we forget the important things of God. Holy Time brings us back to a place to stop and remember what God has done. And God has done amazing things. The Birth of the Messiah, Saviour and Redeemer, is a wondrous act of the Lord. We should celebrate and remember that great act of redemption and love. As those who are grafted in, we can look at the Root and we can see that the Jewish People have added new Festivals as they saw God move and engage in the world. 

I would encourage you to not get caught up in legalistic distractions over pagan names for Jewish months, Christian calendars, winter solstices or the pagan names of Easter. When in truth it is all about the intention of the heart of the worshipper. Celebrating Thanksgiving, Hanukkah and Christmas are great things to do. Bringing family and friends together. Remembering the wondrous saving acts of God and in so doing, giving Him the Glory for His amazing Love. Time is very important to God and Sacred Time is Holy.