December 15, 2010

Help! – My Hanukkah Moment.

Let me introduce you to the Maccabees*: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSJCSR4MuhU **

*Actually the singing group is called the “Maccabeats” – a group of college students from Yeshiva U. in Brooklyn.

What us Hanukkah ? From the Hebrew word for "dedication" or "consecration", Hanukkah marks the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem (Second Temple) after its desecration by the forces of the King of Syria Antiochus IV Epiphanes and commemorates the "miracle of the container of oil". According to the Talmud, at the re-dedication following the victory of the Maccabees (the word means ‘Hammer’), there was only enough consecrated olive oil to fuel the eternal flame in the Temple for one day. They needed help! Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days, which was the length of time it took to press, prepare and consecrate fresh olive oil.

What’s the lesson for us?

We are not made to solve all our problems ourselves. Do what you can, ask for His help and wait for His saving power.
As in the days of old, (almost 200 years before Jesus’ resurrection) God asks people of faith to take a step of faith, ask for His help and then trust Him to do the rest. The people had one day’s worth of oil, they burned that and trusted God for the other seven days until they could prepare fresh oil. Hanukkah is celebrated today because God answered their prayers.

My Beltway story:

One morning, my wife Sue and I were driving on the Inner Loop of the Beltway, heading for I-95 North. About a quarter mile ahead of us, a station wagon in the left lane suddenly careened right across six lanes of traffic and struck a smaller sedan, flipping it over into the medium just past the I-95 exit then rebounded back across six lanes of traffic and into the woods. We slowed down and came to a stop next to the overturned car. Sue and I were the first two on the scene. I opened the passenger side door and the women in the passenger seat scrambled out of the car and fell into Sue’s arms. I then went over to the driver’s side and saw that the driver of the car was belted into his seat, unconscious and upside down. I tried to open the driver’s side door but the accident bent the frame and I was unable to budge it. At the time I thought I had ONLY two alternatives:

1. Try to free the driver and risk dropping him on his head.
2. Doing nothing and having him stay upside down and unconscious.

Both alternatives came with great risk. I didn’t know what to do. So, I prayed, “God help me!” The next moment, I felt a tap on my shoulder. A man was standing by my side. He told me that he was on off-duty paramedic and he knew what to do. It was my very own Hanukkah moment. I stood at the side and watched the rest of the rescue played out without any injury. All involved in the accident were safe and alive.

Question: Did Jesus celebrate Hanukkah?

Answer: See John 10: 22-23 “Then came the Festival of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon’s Colonnade.”

Bud

**Hanuakkah references:

Latkes – Potato pancakes - shallow-fried pancakes of grated potato, flour and egg, often flavored with grated onion or garlic and seasoning.

Dreidel – a spinning top with 4 Hebrew letters – Nun-Gimel-Hay-Shin with is an alliteration of the term “Nes-gadol-haya-sham” – “A great miracle happened there”

Ma'oz Tzur"– “Rock of Ages” – A song sung at Hanukkah time. Lyrics: “Rock of Ages let our song, Praise thy saving power”.
Menorah - a nine-branched candelabrum. The menorah has a ninth branch for the shamash or servant candle. The shamash is used to light the other candles.

Torah – the five books of Moses or the first five books of the Bible.