Faith Works 9-9-18

Faith Works 9-9-18

Jeff Gill

 

Days of awe, days of wonder

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Rosh Hashanah, the "head of the year" in Hebrew for the Jewish calendar's 5779, begins at sunset tomorrow, and that also opens up a period of ten days concluding with Yom Kippur, the "Day of Atonement."

 

The ten days altogether are known as the "Days of Awe" in Judaism, and are often in the Midwest the gates of autumn, with no little awe and wonder in the air, scrawled across the sunrises and humming with expectation in the evening.

 

Trees are starting to turn, farmer's thoughts turn to harvest, football is all around us on Friday nights, and the night starts a little bit earlier to the point where you can't help but notice it as September rolls along.

 

It may not be a part of my faith tradition, but there's something about the beauty and sadness of the gathering gloom that fits with the idea of the gates of Heaven being opened a little wider for our petitions, even as the shrinking daylight gives us cause to listen a little more closely to what Heaven might be saying back to us. A period of preparation for winter to come.

 

And the truth is, as a Christian pastor, my marking of the Days of Awe are also for me a reminder to get myself ready for . . . Christmas.

 

Sure, it's a bit of a leap, but keep in mind the baby we celebrate was born a good Jew, whose family went to Jerusalem for the Passover, and who knew all the traditions and tales of atonement. Jesus went to weddings and feasts and doubtless marked the turn of a new year in Nazareth (back in the 3000's as it would have been), and the fast of Yom Kippur.

 

What makes Christmas as a season joyful for me is if I've prepared myself properly for it. When it sneaks up and catches me as a calendar responsibility only, my thankfulness and celebration can become rote, pro forma, less meaningful. If I get ready in both personal and practical terms, it can be a different sort of stretch of time.

 

The Days of Awe are ten days . . . Advent challenges us to try to wonder at the mystery and majesty of creation for twenty-four days!

 

I might lose my minister card for saying this, but I love Christmas. The sacred and the secular parts of it; both the sequence of Advent themes for four Sundays in December, and the crescendo of kitsch and relentless retail. The story of Mary's simple faith, and the complex narrative of a Saint named Nicholas who somehow becomes a cultural icon. The Bible, and yes, the Hallmark Channel movies. I love it all – if.

 

If, that is, I've got my own house in order. The plans for worship and fellowship at church, my own intentions for giving and gifts and sharing forth with others, the special responsibilities that can come in the Christmas season. If I remembered not to forget those parts of the program, I love Christmas. If it gets away from me, I'm like anyone else – I can start to lose the awe and wonder and delight, and just go through the motions.

 

So whatever your faith tradition, however you do or don't do Christmas, the social reality is that there's quite an opportunity ahead to either enjoy or despise the maelstrom that is December, but the necessary preparation has to begin now. You may be Jewish or Christian or entirely secular, but from Hanukkah to Yule to Festivus, there's an opening ahead to walk through into something wonderful.

 

And I tip my hat to the Jewish readers of this "Faith Works" running feature, for their particular understandings of what it means to have a door open, to take advantage of what God has first begun, and to make the most of what we are invited to be a part of.

 

For all of us, it's simply a time of year to savor the moment, and to catch a glimpse of deeper connections ahead. Let's all make the most of it!

 

Jeff Gill is a writer, storyteller, and pastor in Licking County; yes, he likes Christmas. It's not a crime. Tell him how you are dealing with autumn's arrival at knapsack77@gmail.com, or follow @Knapsack on Twitter.