Sermons

Minister: Rev. Margaret A. Beckman | The message of Hanukkah is to kindle the first light: to care, to be concerned, and to be uplifting to others. In the end, a little bit of light has the power to drive away the darkness. —Rabbi Avi Weiss
 

READING ~ from Hanukkah Stories: thoughts on family, celebration and joy complied by Nancy Rips. Frederick Fell Publishers, Inc. Kindle Edition. Copyright © 2011.

The ritual of lighting the menorah is an act in publicizing one’s belief in the constant availability of hope. As each generation passes this ancient custom on, parents are constantly teaching their children that the battle can be won, that darkness can be overcome. Hanukkah stands as a symbol of what is possible. — Ron Wolfson
Rips, Nancy. hanukkah stories (Kindle Locations 509-512). Frederick Fell Publishers, Inc.. Kindle Edition.

SERMON
The Jewish festival of Hanukkah begins today at sundown. It is a festival of faith and hope and light. It is something about the Jews suffering and then the Maccabees won a big battle against the bad guys and the oil for the temple lamp lasted a full eight days on a one-day amount, and that’s a miracle. Then everyone gambles with a four-sided top and chocolate gold coins. Finally, there’s a feast and then presents.

I admit, that’s about what I knew about Hanukkah before I started asking more probing questions about this holiday. Apparently, there is more to it than jelly donuts, potato pancakes and a bunch of tiny little candles for eight days.

Not being Jewish myself and not coming from a family with Jewish roots, this is not a holiday I grew up learning about or celebrating. It is, however, a wonderful celebration of light that falls in winter in our hemisphere. The date of Hanukkah is determined by the Jewish lunar calendar not the Roman solar calendar – so from our point of view, it moves around a bit, but not out of the winter holiday season.

The most striking and characteristic thing about Hanukkah is the light. During Hanukkah, Menorahs are seen in the windows of Jewish homes.

New candles are lit each night of the eight days – adding one candle each day in memory of the miracle of the oil that wasn’t consumed for eight days.

So, let me share with you a little bit about what I learned about Hanukkah. Remember – Jewish tradition can have many, many ways of telling the same story and many, many ways of interpreting events. I may not be completely right about what I say, but who can say that I am wrong when there are so many right ways of telling the story. Another example of how a great story need not be factually precise in order to be true.

A long time ago, like about a couple hundred years before the beginning of the common era, the Jewish people were living under the occupation and rule of the Syrians. Never a pleasant thing, for a while the occupying rulers pretty much ignored the Jews who didn’t make any trouble and went along with whatever the ruler was doing. Although the Jewish religion was officially made illegal, nobody paid much attention to what practicing Jews did as long as they were discrete about it.

Then a new ruler came to power – Antiochus IV. Well, I’ll just quote a paragraph from the history lesson directly . . .

A short time later, Seleucus was killed and his brother Antiochus IV began to reign over Syria (in 3586 – 174 B.C.E.). He was a tyrant of a rash and impetuous nature, contemptuous of religion and of the feelings of others. He was called “Epiphanes,” meaning “the gods’ beloved.” Several of the Syrian rulers received similar titles. But a historian of his time, Polebius, gave him the epithet Epimanes (“madman”), a title more suitable to the character of this harsh and cruel king.

I’m not making this up. Anyway, Antiochus IV was not tolerant of the Jews or their religious practices – and, oh by the way, he robbed them of all their wealth and then desecrated their temple. He tried to force all the people to practice his chosen religion. Guess what? Some people did. Maybe many people. Some people did not. So – strife and suffering in the land of the Jews. It was really terrible for the Jews and thousands were put to death for the crime of practicing their religion or refusing to adopt the religion of Antiochus.

Then, along comes our hero. One Jewish priest, an old man with five sons, refused to cooperate with the harsh rules and commandments of Antiochus’ army. Well, this was dangerous business and people were hurt – many were killed. The family and all their followers had to flee for their lives. They went up into the hills where they knew their way around, but the soldiers in pursuit did not and soon gave up the hunt. As the old priest was dying, he appointed his oldest son as commander of their rag tag rebellion force and gave him the name Maccabee – which means Hammer – because he was strong and stubborn. Soon the band of freedom fighters became known as the Maccabees.

Fast forward a few years and a whole lot of fighting and guerrilla warfare tactics and hurrah the Maccabees defeated the Syrians and retook possession of Jerusalem and recovered the Temple for the Jews. They cleaned up the place and got it ready for a return of Jewish religious practice. But, there were problems. The golden Menorah – the lamp that burns continuously as a symbol of God’s presence – had been stolen by the Syrians. The Maccabees fashioned a new one out of cheap metal they found lying around. But, they did not find oil for the lamp. The jars of carefully prepared and consecrated oil had been smashed and overturned. In a corner of a storeroom, they found one small jar of oil. Only enough to last maybe one day. Even with everybody working furiously hard to make new oil for the Menorah, it was not enough. It takes eight days to prepare the special oil used to keep the Temple Menorah going with the eternal flame of God’s presence.

Ok, listen up – here’s the miracle … the Maccabees decided to light the Menorah anyway, even if only for a day, as a demonstration of their faith in God and their determination to practice their religion. The lamp did not go out. The lamp burned continuously for eight days – the exact time required to make and consecrate new oil. In memory of this miracle, Jews light the Hanukkah Menorah for eight days each year. Then, they eat, play games and exchange presents on each of the eight days of Hanukkah.

Well, that was a short version. There are longer versions. They all end up with the people remembering the miracle of the oil that burned for eight days with a single day’s portion. Then eating and making merry with family and friends.

Ok, here’s something I didn’t know. While the Hanukkah candles are burning, the only thing permitted is enjoyment…no work – not even homework. The family lights a candle for each day as the week progresses – so on the last day there are eight Hanukkah candles and the helper candle (needed because the Hanukkah candles can do nothing except burn in memory – so the flame must be delivered to the candles). Each day the Menorah is brighter and gives off more light. No work is done while the candles burn. Only enjoyment and remembering. Games are ok. Presents are ok. Work is not ok. Maybe that’s why so many Menorah candles are tiny.

What does Hanukkah and the light of the candles of the Menorah offer us in this season? I have a few suggestions that I will offer. I invite you to think of other ways this holiday of light contributes to our lives.

The Menorah is placed in the window of the home. This is so that the light shines out into the world. The light of Hanukkah is to be shared and to send light out into the darkness
Each night an additional candle is lit and so the light continues to grow and become stronger throughout the holiday period. As the days grow shorter and the nights longer, the light of the Menorah is a welcome beacon of the love of family and friends and the kindness of strangers who shine their light out of their homes to guide others who wander in darkness.
We are reminded that what seems impossible at first might be possible when we begin in faith and see what happens. If we don’t try or never take the first step, we’ll never achieve the end we desire.
The Menorah in the window for all to see is also a reminder that we long to be able to practice our faith in the ways that suit our family and tradition as handed down or developed through the years. Freedom of religious practice is an important value.
The flame of one candle is not diminished when it lights a second or third or even eighth candle. The flame of the helper candle and each of the eight candles burns brightly without losing anything when the next candle is lit. Our light shines brightly. When we share our light with another, our light is not dimmed or extinguished. It continues to burn just as brightly as it did before we rekindled another’s light with a spark from our own.
The candles we light in December provide light and warmth during a season of cold and dark. We can be mindful of the great gift of a light shared with us in times of darkness.
No work while the candles burn. It’s a reminder for all of us to pause and be grateful for the gift of life, to remember our ancestors, to enjoy the ones we are with now.

Let your light shine. The inner light that each of us carries is for our own benefit to be sure. But, it is also to be a gift to the world. We ought to place our inner light in the window of our being for all who pass by to see. May they see that we are filled with light. May they see that we are freely sharing our light with anyone who needs it. May we know that there is oil enough to keep the lamp of eternal light burning brightly forever within each of us and for the world.

Go, share your light and light up the world.

Blessed Be.   I Love You.   Amen.