The Hanukkah season is upon us. It is easy to get up in the same frenzy as the “Christmas Seasonâ€, with the buying of gifts, decorating the house festively, the planning of family get-togethers, and so on.
As believers, we try to keep the focus on spiritual things, such as the miracle that happened, giving Hanukkah its second appellate, The Festival of Lights. There is deep significance in this, and we should always meditate on this time when the Light of the World came to us.
However, let us take special notice of the primary name of the feast: Dedication, and consider what deep things the Holy Spirit wishes to teach us through this wonderful time of the year.
In the allegory The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis painted an alternate world where it was perpetual winter, to depict a place where evil reigned. While children have fun playing in the snow and a blanket of fresh snow can make the scenery beautiful, let us focus on one of the spiritual aspects of winter. The world’s calendar begins the year in the dead of winter. In direct opposition to this, the Lord begins the spiritual year in the Spring, when everything is coming to life. Winter can be a symbol of death, of a desolate, cold time when food cannot be grown, when the sun is rarely seen.
It was in the midst of our spiritual winter—a time when the whole world was dark, searching for the light of truth, that the Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary, and the light of God, Messiah, physically came to us.
To save humanity and secure the universe from sin, Messiah set aside his divine prerogatives in self-sacrificing love and took the form of fallen man. 33 years later, when facing certain death and the horrors of the cross, the gospel of Luke records, “And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem†(Luke 9:51). Messiah was determined to save us, no matter the cost to himself, for he had dedicated his very life for this.
It was during this time of The feast of Dedication that an angel of God approaches Mary with an awesome responsibility being offered to her. Notice the humble attitute Mary takes, as she dedicates herself to this very purpose: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.†(Luke 1:37). Notwithstanding Simeon’s prophecy, “a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also†(Luke 2:35), she held to her dedication throughout her life, to be a vessel for the purposes of God.
No doubt, the dedication of Messiah and Mary are rooted in the very first Feast of Dedication, when the restored Temple was dedicated. It is said that a great miracle happened there. Whether the story of the 8 days of lights is factual or not, a great miracle did, indeed, happen there. The apostle Paul tells us that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit: “know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?†I Corinthians 6:19
Yes, the most holy place is to be found within our conscience. It is here that the Spirit of God wishes to dwell. Much like the temple in Jerusalem, we have been desacrated by sin. A thorough cleansing is needed. Yet cleansing and refurbishing will be of no importance, if one vital step is neglected: the dedication. Common objects are made holy as they are dedicated to the service of God.
Just around the corner is the time when the world celebrates the beginning of its “New Year†with revelry and foolishness. It is in this manner that they hope to to kick off a year different than the previous one, by making silly “resolutionsâ€, 90% of which will be broken within the first week.
Let us not be like the world. Rather than make “resolutionsâ€â€”based on our own strength and resolve to change, let us make the spiritual decision to dedicate ourselves to the service and use of God. As Mary dedicated herself to the purposes of the Almighty, as Jesus dedicated his life for his lost children, as the restored Temple was dedicated to the daily service of the Holy One, we can also dedicate ourselves to him at this season.
For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness. Psalm 18:28
by J. Ashton
As believers, we try to keep the focus on spiritual things, such as the miracle that happened, giving Hanukkah its second appellate, The Festival of Lights. There is deep significance in this, and we should always meditate on this time when the Light of the World came to us.
However, let us take special notice of the primary name of the feast: Dedication, and consider what deep things the Holy Spirit wishes to teach us through this wonderful time of the year.
In the allegory The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis painted an alternate world where it was perpetual winter, to depict a place where evil reigned. While children have fun playing in the snow and a blanket of fresh snow can make the scenery beautiful, let us focus on one of the spiritual aspects of winter. The world’s calendar begins the year in the dead of winter. In direct opposition to this, the Lord begins the spiritual year in the Spring, when everything is coming to life. Winter can be a symbol of death, of a desolate, cold time when food cannot be grown, when the sun is rarely seen.
It was in the midst of our spiritual winter—a time when the whole world was dark, searching for the light of truth, that the Holy Spirit overshadowed Mary, and the light of God, Messiah, physically came to us.
To save humanity and secure the universe from sin, Messiah set aside his divine prerogatives in self-sacrificing love and took the form of fallen man. 33 years later, when facing certain death and the horrors of the cross, the gospel of Luke records, “And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem†(Luke 9:51). Messiah was determined to save us, no matter the cost to himself, for he had dedicated his very life for this.
It was during this time of The feast of Dedication that an angel of God approaches Mary with an awesome responsibility being offered to her. Notice the humble attitute Mary takes, as she dedicates herself to this very purpose: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.†(Luke 1:37). Notwithstanding Simeon’s prophecy, “a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also†(Luke 2:35), she held to her dedication throughout her life, to be a vessel for the purposes of God.
No doubt, the dedication of Messiah and Mary are rooted in the very first Feast of Dedication, when the restored Temple was dedicated. It is said that a great miracle happened there. Whether the story of the 8 days of lights is factual or not, a great miracle did, indeed, happen there. The apostle Paul tells us that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit: “know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?†I Corinthians 6:19
Yes, the most holy place is to be found within our conscience. It is here that the Spirit of God wishes to dwell. Much like the temple in Jerusalem, we have been desacrated by sin. A thorough cleansing is needed. Yet cleansing and refurbishing will be of no importance, if one vital step is neglected: the dedication. Common objects are made holy as they are dedicated to the service of God.
Just around the corner is the time when the world celebrates the beginning of its “New Year†with revelry and foolishness. It is in this manner that they hope to to kick off a year different than the previous one, by making silly “resolutionsâ€, 90% of which will be broken within the first week.
Let us not be like the world. Rather than make “resolutionsâ€â€”based on our own strength and resolve to change, let us make the spiritual decision to dedicate ourselves to the service and use of God. As Mary dedicated herself to the purposes of the Almighty, as Jesus dedicated his life for his lost children, as the restored Temple was dedicated to the daily service of the Holy One, we can also dedicate ourselves to him at this season.
For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness. Psalm 18:28
by J. Ashton