A school teacher friend told me that once a student asked if Jesus celebrated Christmas. “Well, he more likely celebrated Hanukkah, since he was a Jewish boy.” No way, the student answered. St. John tells us that Jesus celebrated Hanukkah, the Feast of the Dedication, as, no doubt, did Mary, the apostles and all of the first generation of disciples. Hence, the significance of the statement from ACTS: “In Antioch that the disciples were first called Christians.” No longer was the Jesus movement limited to Jewish membership and practice but it would become something larger, the Christians. The Bible reports how challenging that transition was. We are in the midst of a similarly challenging transition — from a European centered Church to a World Church.
