Light plays an important role in many religions. It can mean guidance, ease of burden, hope beyond despair and chaos often represented by darkness. Our Jewish sisters and brothers celebrate Hanukkah, the “Festival of Lights,” beginning on the 25th day of the month of Kislev and lasting for eight days and nights. This year it began at sundown on December 4; next year it will fall at the same time as our Christmas. With blessings, games, and festive foods, Hanukkah celebrates the triumphs—both religious and military—of ancient Jewish heroes nearly 2,200 years ago. Antiochus IV tried to force Greek culture upon peoples in his territory. Jews in what was then called Judea were forbidden their most important religious practices as well as study of the Torah. Although vastly outnumbered, religious Jews in the region took up arms to protect their community and their religion, and after three years of fighting, the Maccabees victoriously reclaimed the temple on Jerusalem's Mount Moriah. When they went to prepare the temple for rededication they found only enough purified oil to kindle the temple light for a single day. Miraculously, the light continued to burn for eight days anyway. The lighting of the menorah is the most important Hanukkah tradition. The menorah candle stand, with its eight equal candles and one central "servant" candle symbolizes the burning light in the temple, marks the eight days of the Hanukkah festival, and also for some celebrates the light of freedom won by the Maccabees for the Jewish people. [Adapted from Holly Hartman, as reported at "infoplease"]
Throughout Advent and on Christmas Eve we light candles, a tradition influenced by our Jewish heritage and pagan traditions of light. This too is a sign of hope against darkness and a powerful reminder of the Light that came into the world in Jesus.
Micah 5:2-51 Peace
Peace, shalom. Prophets of long ago understood this shalom comes from two places -- from trusting God and from doing justice. The true nature of peace thus understood takes us to unexpected places, for finding one's shalom depends on caring for the well-being of the neighbor and attending to the real needs of the community we're given -- caring through action and prayer. It also means finding shalom concretely in the place where we live, where we are rooted. We must seek peace even of our own enemies, for in their peace we find our own. [Excerpted from Diane Jacobsen, THE LUTEHRAN, December 2007, p.15]
Luke 1:26-38 Holy
In a recent monologue about Lake Woebegon, Garrison Keillor (storyteller and host of the weekend radio program PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION) tells of the surprise visit to that little northern Minnesota town of a group of Japanese businessmen. It's been 40 years since a train traveled that isolated section of track to Lake Woebegon, and the engineer was irritated -- apparently the switchman forgot to tend to his job. It would take 2 hours to turn the train around, so a few local folks found a bus and loaded the businessmen up to show them around town. As Keillor is wont to do he shared many different insights into the experience of both Japanese, who knew little English, and the locals who knew no Japanese. But the most memorable was this: they went to Lake Woebegon Lutheran where the annual Children's Christmas pageant was underway. I imagine something like what we saw last night -- soda pop bottles shaped into drumsticks for the roll accompanying the decree of Caesar Augustus, into hooves to sound the sheep and other animals making their way with the shepherds to the manger, shofars heralding the angel's announcement, and noise makers accompanying the shepherds who returned to their fields praising and glorifying God for ALL they had seen and heard. To hear the locals tell it, the amazing thing was that these visitors from the east that night responded as though to t HOLY thing, a HOLY unfolding. That's the hospitality of Christmas, Keillor concludes, that the strangers we welcome often show us what we're missing…often remind us of the Holy in our midst.
Matthew 1:18-25 Emmanuel
It was the
day after Christmas at a church in
San Francisco. The pastor of the church was
looking over the crèche when he noticed that the baby Jesus was missing from
among the figures. He hurried outside and saw a little boy with a red wagon, and
in the wagon was the figure of the little baby Jesus. So he walked up to the boy
and said, "Well, where did you get your
passenger, my fine friend?" The little boy replied, "I got Him at church."
"And why did you take Him?" asked the pastor? The boy explained, "Well, about a
week before Christmas, I prayed to the little
Lord Jesus, and I told Him if He would bring me a red wagon for
Christmas, I would give Him a ride around the
block in it." [From an email forwarded without attribution]
And he shall be called Emmanuel, God with us. But they named him Jesus instead -- God saves. This is the one who is both with us and saving one, partner on the journey and life-giving hope for the world.
Luke 2:8-20 Wonder
Another Christmas story, this one from author Sue Monk Kidd:
"When my daughter was small she got the dubious part of the Bethlehem star in a Christmas play. After her first rehearsal she burst through the door with her costume, a five-pointed star lined in shiny gold tinsel designed to drape over her like a sandwich board. 'what exactly will you be doing in the play?' I asked her.
'I just stand there and shine,' she told me, 'I just stand there and shine!'"
[As told by Fred Brussat, SPIRITUALITY AND PRACTICE E-NEWSLETTER 12/21/07]
The wonder of Christmas, one card shared with me this week, is that the God who dwelt among us now can dwell within us.
Matthew 2:1-11 Joy
Father Richard Rohr, in an article entitled "Baptism of Joy," writes: I have committed myself to joy. I have come to realize that those who make space for joy, those who prefer nothing to joy, those who desire the utter reality, will most assuredly have it. We must not be afraid to announce joy to refugees, to slum dwellers, to saddened prisoners, to angry prophets. Now and then we must even announce it to ourselves. In this prison of now, in this cynical and sophisticated age, Christians must believe in joy." [As printed in cacradicalgrace.org daily meditation for 12/8/07]
John 1:1-14 Love
Sing ELW #292 Love Has Come