The dark back story of the Christmas nativity scene

The birth of Jesus, often celebrated by many Protestants and Christians in the West and the East, is usually regarding as a festival of joy. However, beyond the joy and fanfare of this event, is a hidden and dark back story, which I will reflect on in this blog post. (And no, this post is not about the pagan origin).

While I was brought up not to celebrate the event, I have decided not to exclude myself from events where Christians reflect on the event or story central to the faith and recorded in the Christian Scriptures. I have indeed gotten weary of the rhetoric of "othering" done by Christians to exclude other Christians, and feel that even Jesus himself would have gone to a Christmas service in his honour, regardless of the time and season, even if it was not his birthday. As Matthew 18:20 suggests, "For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them" (NIV).

That said, I discovered the dark and hidden story behind the nativity scene when I painted a picture depicting the scene and later told the story to parents and children at church. Then I attended a carol service with my children and further reflected on the story. I discovered, that while we often see the nativity as a scene for celebration, of joy, hope and peace, we ignore the dark back story of exclusion that precipitated it.

For Mary and Joseph to have their baby in stable or barn, they were first denied access to housing. The Bible is silent about the circumstances leading to that unavailability of housing, especially for a pregnant lady due to give birth. It is often portrayed that the city was full and perhaps overcrowded at that time. Yet it seems strange that this would have been Joseph's home city or town and that he would have virtually no friends or family still living there to stay with. That he would have to go to an inn, the equivalent of our modern-day hospital, motel, or hotel, was a sign it itself of something very sad.

There seems to be a darker side under the story where Joseph had to resort to an inn to provide housing and shelter for his wife. It wasn't just that Mary and Joseph could not find a room. It was that friends and relatives of Joseph were not willing to have them stay with them. Maybe they inquired about the marital status. You know the way that your relatives and friends would ask you why they were not invited to the wedding if you showed up at their house with a pregnant lady, especially within a religious and ceremonial society. Further, the inn keepers may also have inquired about marital status and rejected room to them based on the issue on the grounds of "fornication".

This is the dark back story of religious intolerance where those who were religious felt that this couple were "sinners" to be denied access to housing suitable for humans due to the gravity of the perceived sin. Even friends and relatives were ready to dissociate themselves from their own flesh and blood so that he would need to wander the streets to find lodging among strangers. That Joseph would be forced to spend money to secure a room, in an era where home birth by midwives was more normative than it is today, for his fiancée rather than lodge for free with those whom he knew for years and with whom he grew up is indeed sad. No one wanted anything to do with him nor his pregnant fiancée at this point of need. Could it be so bad that the only room they qualified to access was a room stinking of animals and animal manure? A far from hygienic place for bloodletting and delivering a baby?

Far from being a story of joy, I feel the pain and sorrow of Joseph. No wonder God the Father and the angels decided to cheer them up by sending a welcoming party of shepherds. God had to provide some people to welcome the couple as well as to let them know how special they were to God. 

The Adventist Christmas and New Year conundrum

If there is one (of many) thing[s] that irks me about the Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church today is the inconsistency of its theology. On one hand, they hand out religious liberty tracks that paint Roman Catholicism as the whore of Babylon that has lead the world away from true worship. Then in December, the church begins to observe two of Rome's holy or special days: Christmas and New Year. And in North America, the idolatry is heightened when the SDA church decorates it halls and interior with 3-dimensional representations of angels and other creatures or objects of heaven or earth (including the snowman image/sculpture) (Jeremiah 10:3-9). Further, the Christmas tree is decked with these objects and jewels. Then the church calls on the writings of Adventist pope, Ellen G. White, to justify these practices (The Adventist Home Chapter 77, p. 477-483). This is done, despite Pope White not stating that she got a direct revelation from God that Christmas and New Years must be observed.

While I have no problem with my brethren, the Roman Catholics observing these days, and even my fellow Sunday Protestants doing the same, it strikes me that for Adventists, the practices are oddly inconsistent with their theology and teachings, especially their narrow interpretation of their mission of the three angels message in Revelations 14:6-9. From what they taught me, if Rome's worship involves changing God's calendar and deciding when to observe what, then if you are calling people to the true worship, why not point them back to God's original calendar that he first gave to his people the Jews. If you point fingers on Rome, then why do you do some of what they do, but not everything? If you go part way with Rome, why not all the way?

In the Bible, God only has one new year, the Passover (the 14th of Nissan) (Exodus 12:2). However, today Jews celebrate Rosh Hashanah as a second "new year", especially when it announces a year of jubilee (Gordon, 2014). However, scholars dispute this second "new year" (Gordon, 2014; Rood, 2004), with Rood (2004) indicating that the real Biblical new year is the month of Aviv or Passover.

As for Christmas, if the Adventist church developed in protest against Roman Christianity, why has it not opted to adopt the Eastern Christianity's Christmas date in January?

Nonetheless, I want to wish a Merry Christmas to all you who celebrate it without theological inconsistency! Whether on December 25th or in January.


References:

Gordon, N. (2014, Sep. 26). Nehemia's wall: Uncovering ancient Hebrew sources of faith. [Blog post] Retrieved from
http://www.nehemiaswall.com/yom-teruah-day-shouting-became-rosh-hashanah

Rood, M. (2004). The Pagan-Christian connection exposed: A Rood awakening. Alachua, FL: Bridge-Logos

White, E. G. (2001). Christmas. The Adventist home: Counsels to Seventh-day Adventist families as set forth in the writings of Ellen G. White. Maryland: Trustees of the Ellen G. White Estate.

Defending the Christian observance of Jewish feast days

Our 2014 mini sukkah built with craft sticks, felt and the leaves of an evergreen tree

Interior of our mini family sukkah, awaiting the handmade furniture

October 8, 2014 marks the beginning of the current season of Sukkot or Feast of Tabernacles where some Jews that observed the mitzvah and slept in a booth and might have seen the lunar eclipse. For me, while I made a mini sukkah (see above) with my girls, I spent the night looking at the lovely moon through my window. Wrapped in the comfort of my warm blanket, I did not envy anyone who had to sleep outdoors (especially in the Ontario, Canada) on that night. However, I do envy the spiritual lessons and blessings that those who did would be learning and receiving.

I recently read the preface of a paper by Tom Roberts that discusses that Christians can "glean much from every religious tradition". He further went on to state that "truth is not the property of any one organization or creed". Robert continues to suggest that:

Christianity in general owes the Jewish people a great debt for giving us the Hebrew Bible as well as the Jewish Messiah which led into the Hebrews roots of early Christianity. While much was wrong with these traditions that Our Lord encountered, they still preserved the revelation of God so the truths in scripture could be found by those who are guided by the Holy Spirit.

While I do not know if I fully agree with all of Robert's statements, they definitely resonate with me. I believe that Christianity today is a religion that is formed from an amalgamation of Jewish and pagan traditions. However, my stance as a Judeo-Christian believer is that the pagan traditions of Christianity should be given up and that we should return to our more Jewish traditions. However, this idea has been found problematic and even offensive to Jews.


I still remember when a Jewish rabbi unfriended me from Facebook because I announced my celebration of a "Christian Passover". He found it offensive and I could not understand why. Well, it was not until the 2014 Passover season when I discovered this article by Rebecca Cynamon-Murphy, a wife of a Jew, but also a Christian that made these remarks which made it more clear why a Christian Passover is offensive:

When people learn that, as a lifelong and practicing Christian, I am married to a Jewish man and that we practice both religions in our house, I often become the safe person to ask about Judaism. I like this advocate role for the opportunity it gives me to gently encourage folks to look at ways in which their privilege as a member of a majority population can sometimes cause them to cause offense.

Several times, I have encountered folks who wanted to host their own Passover seders. Their logic is that since Jesus was celebrating Pesach during the week when he was arrested, tried, executed and resurrected, in a desire to be more Christ-like, they too should celebrate the holiday. 

Christians may desire to become more Christ-like or to develop deeper understanding of Christian roots, but hosting a Jewish Passover outside of the context of Jewish relationships does more harm than good. Christians celebrating their own Passover do unwitting harm to the Jewish people because they ignore centuries of persecution of Jews—and they do harm to themselves by ignoring their real-life Jewish neighbors, treating them as relics rather than people.

That article better helped me to understand why my rabbi [former] friend found it offensive. Cynamon-Murphy (2014) raises the sensitive issue of cultural appropriation. I appreciated this point as I can understand how someone from another culture appropriating something from another person's culture can be deemed offensive.

But it brings me to the reflection that Christianity has nothing much that is original. The majority of our traditions and teachings were appropriated from either Jewish or pagan origins (Greek or Roman). In fact, Christianity tends to appropriate national cultural heritage into their traditions. We use Jewish texts and add to it. We then interpret those texts using Greek and Roman philosophies and interpretative methods. Or we appropriate pagan stories and substitute the name of the pagan characters with Christian ones.

Hence, as I reflect, I have the same Bible as the Jews, except with the New Testament additions. Am I therefore not free to adopt any traditions that help me better appreciate the Bible and its context? Christianity does not have any [non-pagan] family traditions that help children to relive the stories of scriptures. As a friend of mine once said:

Judaism puts a lot more stock in the traditions of the fathers than Christians do. They tend to follow what they have inherited. Christians form new traditions with every new group; and they aren't as ingrained, partially because they are often learnt through conversion, not through parent-child relations.

I believe that the Haggaddah and other Jewish traditions help me to fulfill the Deut. 6:6-9 verse (and even Psalm 78:3-8) that tells me to talk about God's commandments and deeds to my children. Of course I could create my own, but it is so much easier to borrow best practices and reinvent them to meet personalized needs. Isn't preferable to adopt and appropriate the traditions from the people who God gave his oracles (Romans 3:2) rather than from those who Satan deceived? 

Edited for some corrections regarding the timing of the lunar eclipse and other minor wordings.

References:

Cynamon-Murphy, R. (2014, Apr. 11). Why Christians should not host their own Passover Seders. Religion Dispatches. Retrieved from http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/atheologies/7774/why_christians_should_not_host_their_own_passover_seders/

Roberts, T. [n.d.]. The Law, Sabbath and redemption. Retrieved from
https://www.academia.edu/8678234/The_Law_Sabbath_and_Redemption

Palm Sunday and Passover 2014 preparation reflection

So Passover 2014 begins April 14. As I attempt to lead my family (or household) in remembering and celebrating this feast, I want to share five thoughts that came to me as we prepared to remember Passover:

1. On Palm Sunday morning, respecting my wife's Christian tradition, we listened to a Bible reading on the events of Palm Sunday. As we listened to the readings prior to the main Palm Sunday event, I noticed the themes of Jesus sayings and teachings prior to his entry in Jerusalem. All the teachings and sayings recorded then seemed to have a reoccurring theme: that of getting rid of the things that separates one from God. Hence, the major idea of Passover preparation is to take time to think about what brings us closer to God and what separates us from him.
2. Cleaning through my refrigerator, I came across numerous vegetables that were abandoned or forgotten, including frozen vegetables. This inspired me to reflect that Passover is a good time to look back at our store house of food and see what we have wasted and make sure that we make good use of food that God provided us. To help do this, we should have a feast and invite friends, neighbours, loved ones or even strangers to help us eat the good food that God has provided us with, and celebrate and not forget his provision in the previous [old] year while we look forward to continuing provision for the new year.
3. Cleaning my refrigerator took the whole morning and I was basically tired and a bit sick after the activity. Despite my enthusiasm to do more, like vacuum and mop the whole house, my body could not meet the goals I set for Passover cleaning. This reminded me that my efforts to remember the Passover by doing some of the activities  in the Bible will always fall short, hence my need for Jesus as my Saviour. Essentially, all the good that I intend to do, cannot be done, because of the limitations in my body and flesh. Hence, I need a substitute who can help me do the will of God and help me to acquire his favour.
4. The matzah is really the "bread of affliction". My wife after eating matzah for an entire week for several years now, does not like the bread (or cracker). Whenever the Passover season comes and I acquire the bread, she reminds me of her horrible experiences and why she does not like the bread. For her, going without leavened products is more like a fast than a feast. I can empathize with her to some extent. Because Matzah is not the kind of food that you want to eat seven days straight. It is a bread that cuts. Because it lacks leaven, it is crunchy but can also lead to sore gums and cuts in the mouth (or lip). Nonetheless, the hardship of eating Matzah can remind us that we as Christians must share in the afflictions of Christ. (For Jews, the affliction is shared with their ancestors). To me the Passover experience reminds me that even though I might have freedom today, religious freedom is not guaranteed tomorrow. Just like how the Jews prospered in Joseph's time in Egypt, it only takes a few generations before your faith can be outlawed and your freedoms taken away. I see parallel today that the Western world, once the bedrock of [Western] Christianity is now becoming increasing secular. The results are, freedoms we used to enjoy are now being curtailed. Yet, the Passover experience reminds me that this is nothing new, and in fact, is promised by our Saviour. As Jesus says: In this world, we shall have sorrow (John 16:33). Hence, we must be prepared and prepare ourselves each Passover remembrance for this reality. We don't know when it may be illegal to be a Christian (for some in the East, this is already reality), but we must always contemplate this reality so that we can be reminded that even though we will be oppressed that God will deliver us as he did with the Hebrews under Pharaoh.
5. Finally, as I cleaned my refrigerator, I wondered if Passover was also a way of getting the Hebrews to practice the hygiene of cleaning their food storage houses once a year, so as to clear out bacteria and other contaminants of food. I not only removed expired food from my fridge, but also wiped away much of the scum that made me wonder how much bacteria lives in the fridge, despite the cold temperature. I can only imagine that the Hebrews in leaving Egypt, without fridge technology, had to deal with hot temperatures associated with their food storage spaces that led to the breeding of fungi, mold and other micro-organisms. 

Finally, I share an insider's joke. My wife argued with me that I shouldn't wait once a year to do "spring cleaning" of the house. In fact, she suggested that we should be doing such activities at least every two weeks, so as to maintain the clean environment, rather than having a whole lot to do at one time. I shot back that God only cleansed his sanctuary once per year. :)

Bible study on the Feasts of the LORD in the New Testament

God recently gave me the opportunity to lead a Bible study at church on the Feasts of the LORD in the New Testament. As I prepared for the Bible study, I approached it with an open mind, seeking just to find the facts and draw conclusions only based on facts. As such, I present in this post what I found and my conclusions on what I found.

First, let me begin by indicate the scope and limitations of this post and Bible study. It is meant to be a mere overview of the feast days in the Bible, particularly as they are mentioned in the New Testament Scriptures. My study does not cover all possible mentions of the feats. Further I present the feasts in the order that they appear in the Jewish calendar.

1. Passover/Pesach and Unleavened Bread
From my study, Passover and Unleavened Bread observance are the only feasts commanded in the New Testament for Christians. Jesus first commanded it, that the Passover feast should commemorate his sacrifice (Luke 22:19). Then Paul, speaking to Gentiles in Corinth, declare that they must keep the feast, not in the old Jewish way, but with the new meaning infused into the feast by Jesus (1 Cor. 5:6-8).

Finally it is clear that what apostle Paul refers to as the Lord's Supper is different from what we call communion and celebrate today. The Lord supper according to Paul was an activity that involved more eating than just bread and more drinking than just a small cup or sip of wine (or grape juice). So abundant was the feasting at the Lord's supper that some people were drunk, while others came expecting to have food and were hungry (1 Cor. 11:17-34).

Finally in Acts 20:6, we see that Luke (a Gentile) also use

2. Pentecost/Shavout
Unlike Passover, there is no explicit command for the keeping of Pentecost. Despite that, the apostles were obviously together on that day (Acts 2:1). Paul made special arrangements to keep this feast in Jerusalem, despite other Gentile Christians wanting him to minister to them (Acts 18:18-21;20:16).

However, I would be hard pressed to state that Christians are commanded to observe the festival.


3. Feast of Trumpets/Rosh Hashanah
Unlike the previous festivals, Feast of Trumpets is not explicitly mentioned. In fact, the feast is only referred to in the New Testament implicitly through symbolism. Perhaps the best way to identify symbolic references to this feast is to browse the New Testament scriptures for allusions or references to the blowing of a trumpet or trumpets (See Matthew 24:31; Revelations 11:15-19; 1 Thessalonians 4:16; 1 Cor. 15:51-52).


4. The day of Atonement/Yom Kippur
This feast is the only one that I consider not a "feast" as it is actually a fast. In Acts 27:9, the feast may be alluded to as "the Fast". The symbolism of this feast is mentioned through Hebrews Chapters 9 and 10 (Hebrews 9:6-14,24-28; Hebrews 10:1-3,11-13).

5. Feast of Tabernacles/Booths/Sukkot
Like the fellow fall festivals, Feast of Tabernacles is not explicitly mentioned in the New Testament, except for the references to the observance of these Festivals and events in the life of Jesus. Jesus goes up to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast, even though he was risking his life in doing so (John 7:1-14). On the Last Great Day of the feast, Jesus announces the promise for living water for those who are thirsty (John 7:37-39). The symbolism of this feast is also alluded to in Revelations 21:1-6, where God comes from heaven to dwell with human beings and establishes a living stream that quenches the thirst of all the inhabitants living in God's earthly residence.

Concluding points
From these findings, I conclude that

1. The festivals/feast days were as much a part of the Jewish calendar as they were of the Gentile Christian calendar. Gentiles like Luke use the calendar to mark times and significant events in his account and retelling of the history of the early church and the biography of church leaders and apostles such as Paul.
2. One feast observance is explicitly commanded, both by Jesus and apparently even by Paul. This one feast explicitly commanded for Christian observance is not tied to the ceremonial laws nailed to the cross (Colossians 2:14). Passover and Unleavened (Exodus 12) comes before the Sabbath in Exodus 16 and the giving of the 10 commandments in Exodus 20. The very first Passover was kept before a tabernacle or temple was instituted. 
3. There is no evidence that Jesus commanded the discontinuation of the observance of these festivals or feasts. Rather, the feasts continue to be alluded to throughout the New Testament Scriptures.

I will hopefully in my next blog post thoroughly analyse why Christians should keep the feast of Passover and Unleavened bread.

G-d's Days of Commemoration

The Passover season is coming up and it will soon be time to contemplate its significance. It is the only feast so far that Jesus Christ was physically present on earth when it was fulfilled. After that, he was gone back to heaven and was not physically present in the New Testament to keep the other festivals and to command their observance.

Many Christians feel that Jesus abolished all other laws except the 10 commandments, when many of them have not yet been fulfilled (Matthew 5:17). In fact, if we study the scriptures carefully, only three of the festivals/feasts were fulfilled.

At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came. That is another occasion that we have neglected to celebrate according to God's calendar. SDA Pentecost does not fall in God's time line either, as SDA church leaders have chosen a convenient day for "Pentecost and More". Generally, some other churches name themselves after the feast, for example Pentecostals, and totally ignore this celebration of the anniversary of the Holy Spirit entering the church. Instead, the church leaders chose to remember Azusa Street Revival.

The Day of Atonement - which is believed to be of special significance to SDA theology is also not commemorated corporately or even on the correct day. However, Feast of Trumpets is all but ignored in SDA theology, despite the fact that it comes before the Day of Atonement.

It is a pity that some feel that Jesus abolished all other laws except the 10 commandments, when many of them have not yet been fulfilled. While the sacrificial ceremonies have been abolished (or perhaps suspended since G-d promised Phineas the Levite an everlasting priesthood in Numbers 25:13), because of the fulfilment of Jesus as our sacrifice, it was not God's intention that we do not commemorate these special seasons, especially those with future meaning and significance. They are still his Feasts, even the Sabbath (Leviticus 23:2).

It is not about observing days and times, but about reflecting and commemorating on God's work and intervention in human affairs. As Christians we love celebrations and annual special times like Christmas and Easter. Why should we just choose our own anniversaries to celebrate G-d, when he has his own?

Reasoning on JESUS's birthday

I just had a talk with a Jehovah's Witness (JW). A pleasant discussion at that. She wanted to give me literature, but I declined saying that I had so much to read and so little time. I therefore offered her the opportunity to summarise one of the articles for me.

She asked me which one, and I decided to choose the article on "When was JESUS born?"

I told her that I already know that he was not born on the 25th of December but I would be interested in hearing the exact date if they had it.

She disappointed me by telling me that they did not have the date, but could show that it was not on December 25th.

We then went on into a discussion about the morality of birthday celebrations.

I agreed with her that it was not moral to celebrate JESUS's birth on the 25th, the same day as a pagan god. However, I disagreed with her about the immorality of celebrating a birthday or a life any at all.

I reassured her that while G-d did not command Christians to celebrate the birth of JESUS - the fact is that JESUS birth was celebrated, and by a number of individuals.

The JW went on to ask why was there not a continuous celebration by his disciples and followers until more than 100 years after.

I then went on to share with her that if they were following the Jewish calendar, which was lunar, they could not regularly have a set day to celebrate a birthday. The day would fluctuate too much.

However, since we today are following a pagan calendar named after Greek and Roman gods, our timing is such that a set day and set time can be commemorated each year.

I also suggested to her, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, that if we were following the Jewish calendar, where there is a timing and season for each activity, then there would be no need to celebrate birthdays. (The JW lady conceded that we are no longer under law, hence no need to follow the Jewish calendar. So I told her that if we are not following the Jewish calendar, hence there is no problem or law against celebrating birthdays via the pagan calendar.)




We left on peaceful terms, and I actually felt blessed from the conversation since we spoke about the Almighty G-d together and his Son. I also left with the realisation that if celebrating birthdays on a pagan calendar is immoral, what is more immoral is to not follow G-d's calendar. Further, there was no command to not celebrate birthdays, but there were explicit commands to keep G-d's sabbaths and convocations.