Just in time—–

The Christmas Cactus is blooming.

It’s called a Schlumberia in formal language.  The story is told of a Jesuit missionary, Father Jose, working Bolivia to convert the natives but failing.  He could not convince them of the Christmas story but as he was praying on Christmas eve, he heard them singing a hymn he had taught them, the children coming toward him with a plant with beautiful flowers that they gave him to decorate his altar.

It is summer in Bolivia now, in the southern hemisphere.

We checked the weather in the northern hemisphere, Bethlehem on the West Bank of Israel to be precise, a couple of day ago and we learned that it’s going to be in the upper 50s and lower 60s there today.  December is the third coldest month of the year there—generally damp and mild with highs of about 59 and average lows of 43.

Okay, that’s not bad.  A baby probably would be quite comfortable in a stable and many people in those days lived in the same house with their animals anyway.

We don’t know exactly when He was born; some celebrate it on December 25 but others celebrate it on January 7. In fact, there are those who study ancient history who think he was born in 4 BCE.

That’s an archaeological term that doesn’t try to pin things down too exactly in a time when there were no calendars from the bank or the insurance company or the university hanging on the wall. “BCE” is an archaeological term that denotes periods, not exact dates. It means, “Before the Christian Era,”  a secular starting point that lacks specificity but defines eras when events happened.

So, Jesus—some calculate—was born four years before the start of the Christian Era. BCE, therefore is a way of dating things in a way that works for Christians, Buddhists, followers of Shinto, the Hindus—whatever.

To most of those who peruse these lines, today is December 25, 2024, according to the Gregorian Calendar that we use, introduced in 1752.  In adjusting away from the Julian calendar, which dates to 45BCE, some days had to be eliminated—ten of them. We won’t go into all of the explanation except  to note the Gregorian Calendar is a more accurate way to measure the time it takes us to go around the sun.

But today, as it as well as we can determine, it’s 24 Kislev, 5785 on the Jewish calendar and Jumadal Akhira 16, 1446 AH on the Muslim calendar.

Scientists looking at other recorded events, Biblical references, and seasons suggest the birth happened in  mid to late September. The conception, they calculate, is what happened about now in the Jewish month of Kislev.

But really, it doesn’t matter, does it?  This is the day we celebrate the birth.

Have you noticed the days are getting longer now?  The winter solstice has passed and it’s getting lighter…..at the time we celebrate the birth of Him who is called “the light of the world”  There are more than 35 verses in the Bible using that phrase or something akin to it.

We celebrate His birth as light coming into the world.

Perhaps some time today there will a minute or two to think about that.  And about how His followers themselves can be lights to others.  Every day.

(photo credits:  Bob Priddy. The candle is a painting done by Sara Elizabeth Priddy for her Grandma Priddy a long time ago.)