This past Friday, Dec. 12 —Kislev 25, 5770 (Jewish Calendar), I had the opportunity to join the local Jewish community here in Wildwood to celebrate the first night of Hanukkah in their Beth Judah Temple that dates back to the 1920s. I was invited along with other Christian pastors here in Wildwood by the new young Rabbi Jeffrey Lipshultz to reflect on the theme of unity and light as found in our respective traditions. We had the honor of sitting in the sanctuary and assisting with the lighting of the first candle of the Hanukkah menorah. My thoughts of course turned to the holiday being celebrated and a very special celebration of Hanukkah that Jesus celebrated during his earthly ministry.
Hanukkah is a festival which commemorates the purification and rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem by Judas Maccabeus on Kislev 25, 165 B.C. Three years prior, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the Seleucid or Syrian king, defiled the Temple by erecting an altar to “Baal Shamen” (Zeus or Jupiter), sacrificing a pig on that altar. He also decreed that the Torah could no longer be read and studied, circumcision was forbidden and the Sabbath was no longer allowed to be kept. A great spiritual and cultural struggle with Judaism of that time arose between the observant Jews who wanted to stay true to the Covenant and the Hellenized Jews who wanted to assimilate into the Greek culture and abandoned certain aspects of the faith.
Antiochus sent troops from town to town with a statue of himself ordering the local inhabitants to worship and sacrifice to it. This led to a revolt known as the Maccabean Revolt. It was initiated by a priest named Mattathias and then carried on under the leadership of his son Judas, known as Maccabeus, “the hammer.” The revolt was successful and the Temple was restored or rededicated, with the removal of the abomination in the Temple and the proper sacrifice being offered once again on the 25th of Kislev, 165 B.C. The miracle commemorated during Hanukkah is that the Maccabees found one jar of pure oil, enough to keep the menorah in the Temple burning for just one day. But the oil burned for eight days. Each night of this eight-day Jewish holiday a candle is lit to remember the miracle.
In John’s Gospel we find in Chapter 10 the story of Jesus celebrating the feast of Hanukkah. It was probably during the winter of 29 A.D. John tells us that Jesus walked through Solomon’s porch on the east side of the Temple and some of the religious leaders approached him and asked him point blank, “Are you the Messiah?” Jesus had to be very careful how he answered this particular question since the word “Messiah” held nationalistic and militaristic connotations for many Jews of his day, not to mention, that Roman eavesdroppers were present, as well, since the Antonia Fortress was just to the northwest of the Temple. His answer “I and the Father are One,” reveals him as the new Temple of God’s presence and the Light of the World.
We Christians are about to celebrate the great Feast of the Incarnation at Christmas. At this time of year like our Jewish forebears in the faith, we light candles during the season of Advent. Like our Jewish friends who derive meaning and joy from their reading of Torah, we Christians draw meaning and joy from the Gospel which illumines our path in life. The birth narratives in the Gospel tell the story of the light coming into the world. Light shining in the darkness is a central image in the birth stories. John’s Gospel tells us “this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it” (Jn 1:4-5).
Both Hanukkah and Christmas are imbued with the theme of light. The symbolism of light triumphing over darkness is ancient, archetypal and filled with deep meaning for Jews and Christians. As we celebrate our separate and distinct festivals of light, may the glow of each warm the others’ heart. Jews and Christians are called and challenged by our respective Sacred Scripture to be a light to the nations and the world. May this season of light and miracles be a blessing for us all as we marvel in the mystery of God’s love for us. Let us be the light in the darkness of the world. To my Jewish friends—may you have a happy Hanukkah. And to my fellow Christian travelers—may you have a merry and blessed Christmas.
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