First off, this is not a writing against Christmas being celebrated on December 25th! Whew! Now, with that disclaimer out of the way, I wanted to introduce just my pondering of "when" Jesus could have really been born. Although, for calendar celebration's-sake, we annually recognize the birth of Jesus Christ on December 25th, I am more convinced that Jesus was born during the Jewish celebration of SUKKOT. That means, to me, that the birth of Christ occurred sometime within September to October time frame. The thoughts came to me as I wrote a sermon based on the Advent-Season lectionary Gospel reading in John 1:6-14. I came across verse 14, that says, "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us." The word "dwelt" can be interpreted as "tent" or "tabernacle." Oddly enough, SUKKOT is the Jewish "Feast of Booths" or "Festival of Tents" to remember the 40 years the Israelites spent wandering the deserts and living in temporary shelters. It is one of the most joyous of celebrations and is considered as "The Season of Our Rejoicing." OK, so where am I going with this? I just think that Jesus being born during Sukkot makes sense. I believe God is very intentional with presenting/revealing Himself to us. After all, if the crucifixion/sacrifice of Jesus coincides with the Jewish celebration of PASSOVER why, then, could it not be possible for His birth to run parallel with SUKKOT? So, yes, I will keep on track with the Christmas, December 25th "recognition celebration" of Christ being born the Messiah...Savior of the world. I am in no hurry to "change Christmas" but to simply expand my understanding of how God works in our lives and our world to reveal Himself to us. Why, yes...that is a reason to rejoice! MERRY CHRISTMAS!
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