Christmas is yet again around the corner. It is, possibly, the most celebrated of all festivals. It cuts across all social barriers and religious definitions. And it has been so from the beginning, as is indicated by the response of the wise from the east and the shepherds. They represented the response of the non-Jewish world. The catalyst for their response was the star they saw in the sky. They star, as a symbol, rises above all socially erected divisions and exclusions. It is there for all to see, if they wish to.
What makes Christmas enduringly universal? Obviously, it cannot be on account of the externals of Christmas, such as carols, cakes, cards, Santa Claus, Christmas tress and so on. Nor can it be because of the Nativity Narrative itself: cows, manger, angels, Herod and the like. All these fineries draw meaning from the core of the event.
Christmas, like every other festival, stands at the meeting point between religion and culture. It is natural, hence, that celebrations are increasingly overlaid by cultural moorings and trappings. Materialistic cultures express the so called “joy of Christmas” in ways that are primarily worldly and pleasure-seeking. So, more people get drunk and that too unrestrainedly, during this season. Greater gluttony and extravagance are witnessed during Christmas, flouting the message of Christmas. Jesus came to engage the essential realities of life. And our crackers, cakes and carols create a smoke-screen against these realities. There is a great need today to ensure the balance between the flourish of festivity and its core meaning. “For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).
Christmas is not the good news of God giving us an expensive gift, but God giving himself in Jesus Christ. This is the refrain that we hear again and again in the carols. Christ continues to take on flesh when people commit themselves to their creator. New Nazareths are made, new Bethlehems happen as we come to faith in Christ. We are the sites of new Nazareths and Bethlehems.
What makes Christmas enduringly universal? Obviously, it cannot be on account of the externals of Christmas, such as carols, cakes, cards, Santa Claus, Christmas tress and so on. Nor can it be because of the Nativity Narrative itself: cows, manger, angels, Herod and the like. All these fineries draw meaning from the core of the event.
Christmas, like every other festival, stands at the meeting point between religion and culture. It is natural, hence, that celebrations are increasingly overlaid by cultural moorings and trappings. Materialistic cultures express the so called “joy of Christmas” in ways that are primarily worldly and pleasure-seeking. So, more people get drunk and that too unrestrainedly, during this season. Greater gluttony and extravagance are witnessed during Christmas, flouting the message of Christmas. Jesus came to engage the essential realities of life. And our crackers, cakes and carols create a smoke-screen against these realities. There is a great need today to ensure the balance between the flourish of festivity and its core meaning. “For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6).
Christmas is not the good news of God giving us an expensive gift, but God giving himself in Jesus Christ. This is the refrain that we hear again and again in the carols. Christ continues to take on flesh when people commit themselves to their creator. New Nazareths are made, new Bethlehems happen as we come to faith in Christ. We are the sites of new Nazareths and Bethlehems.
