tis the season’….

 

…to be jolly fa la la la la la la la la….YES it is baby!

We cranked up the season Saturday by taking a look back to see how our ancestors before Christ celebrated. I mean they knew, they anticipated the coming of Christ; yet for 100’s-even thousands-of years they went about the days, weeks, months and years celebrating.  But how? Well, we took a look at the biggies that the Jewish community celebrated throughout the year. The festivals, the ceremonies, the days of remembrance were in large part to keep us in fellowship with God. It was how we observed (followed) the do’s and don’ts within that kept us in “good standing” with God

That was actually a word we heard Saturday from folks as we sauntered through the holidays. “Right” standing, “Good” standing, yet how??

You see, there was the

-Feast of Lots

-Passover

-Feast of Weeks or Pentecost

-Day of Atonement

-Feast of Tabernacles

-Rejoicing in the Torah

-Hanukkah

Let’s hone in on a couple just for a second.

Now picture the scene of Jesus’ birth…….you got it….Mary giving birth, don’t let this just slip by and move on gang. Mary said YES, her man Joseph waivered a bit, but then stood firm, as I’m sure he looked into his soon to be bride and sensed, heck knew that she was indeed carrying the MESSIAH, the one that would ATONE (cover forever) so that through faith we would/could be forever in RIGHT, GOOD standing with God based on what JESUS will do 33 years later! Man I just know at some point that through the years of Jesus growing up that as he participated in each of the aforementioned events, year after year after year after year, that at some point I can almost sense an undertow of “if they only knew”….surely as a boy growing up HE, his mama and earthly daddy had some incredible conversations looking ahead to when HIS time would come to fulfill. WOW….I mean when they would go to the temple on Passover and know that one day HE, JESUS would be THE Lamb, or almost snickering to a point of laughter on Pentecost, knowing that another gift in the form of the HOLY Spirit was coming after HIS resurrection. aaahhhhh the anticipation, I don’t believe they ever came out of the season. …tis the season!

Brings on a new meaning doesn’t it? So let’s do just that…let’s pick up the journey up with Mary and Joseph as they journey to Bethlehem to be registered, to be counted in the called census, let’s join them in the place of the birth and let’s not romanticize the surroundings but drink in the fact that the surroundings were less than ideal, the environment towards them hostile as they declared who their baby was and is. I’m so thankful for Zachariah and Elizabeth and I want to believe they were there (nothing to prove or disprove) holding John the Baptist in their arms celebrating with them……tis the season to

love em up!