Christians Celebrate The Birth of a Jew!

Context (micro)

I made a quick run to the local grocery store tonight. I needed to pick up some holiday goodies. I was in the parking lot about to leave when an acquaintance arrived. He was heading into the store.


Photo by Beth Brewer

The Exchange

JeromeProphet: Hey there!

Acquaintance: Hey!

JeromeProphet: Have a happy חנֻכה Hanukkah!

Acquaintance: You have a merry Christmas!

The gentleman headed into the store, while my daughter helped me load the car.

JeromeProphet: You know that exchange we just had is profound in a way.

Teenage Daughter: What do you mean dad?

JeromeProphet: Well, in so many places around the world people are expected to hate each other if they are of different faiths.

Teenage Daughter: That's pretty sad.

JeromeProphet: That's a good thing about America. We're not perfect, but we're getting pretty good about tolerating each other despite our religious differences.


Reflections

There's much room for improvement in America, but there's hope that this great experiment will succeed. In a very real sense the fate of the world hangs in the balance.


Note

First Candle was lit December 15th this year (2006). Here's a link for more information about Hanukkah.

Jesus was Jewish. He was born of a Jewish mother, and raised as a Jew. Jesus subscribed to the Jewish faith, never challenging "The Law". The first Christians were Jewish. Saul (Paul) was a Jew, and is the one individual most responsible for spreading Christianity to Gentiles. Aside from Constantine, Saul is the one individual most responsible for the transformation of Christianity into a Major World Religion.

Despite the fact that Christ was Jewish, and that the Jewish people are identified in the Bible as the "Chosen People", Christians have persecuted Jews at various times throughout the last two millenia.