December 2020

Christmas ~

We Christians write about it, claim it, celebrate it, and of late, Santa-capped and shopping crazed, we complain about a culture stealing it.

This year, my Christmas thoughts turned Jewish. 

Think “40.” In Jewish scripture; forty hints of something important completed.

Moses stuck on Mt. Sinai for 40 days 

Jews wandering in a wilderness for 40 years

Could the strange writings of Ezekiel be the result of his lying on his right side for 40 days, bearing the iniquities of Judea’s sin?

Goliath taunted the boy, David, for 40 days before enough was enough and the boy pulled out a slingshot

For the record, three kings (not those purported to visit the Christ Child), Saul, David, and Solomon each reigned for 40 years

Noah knew enough to build a big boat before 40 days and nights of rain. 

The prophet Elijah walked for 40 days, when eleven would have worked; but hey, he walked with God, and given that, who can’t get lost in time?

40 matters in the memory of Jews when it comes to what God is about. 

“40” is the number of weeks for a pregnancy to reach full term. The number I’m hoping got fulfilled, for sure not in December, but in the body of Mary, a young Jewish girl who, 40 days after a Jewish boy baby’s birth, submitted to the rituals required to free her from impurity. Mary’s boy who, once grown-up and tested against temptation for 40 trying days, became a Rabbi preaching to his fellow countryfolk a startling fresh view of what it meant to be the people of God. His 40-week gestation, his birth, his growing up years, his location, his culture, his religious practices, his entire short adulthood were, well, Jewish. 

This may be important to those of us who celebrate Christmas—that those who first followed Jesus’ teaching, followed him, and saw reason to believe he was the promised Christ, were for a good, long while, only Jews. They longed for the promised Kingdom. For a good while, they paid no attention to Jesus’ birth. 

Then, along came the influx and influence of Gentile converts to this Jewish belief, along came some pushback, and a long time later came the church’s celebration not only of this man’s message, not only of his death and resurrection—anticipated by a 40-day Lenten period, by the way; and before the celebration of his birth, the faithful acknowledge 40 days of expectation—Advent.  

It’s a weighty thing, this season of celebration, but it’s a Jewish thing, really, this thing we Christian borrowers of a savior call Christmas. 

However you may celebrate it, I wish you a Merry one!