Lessons from the Christmas story
GREETINGS to everyone. Christmas is here upon us! I know that in the midst of all the busyness and excitement, many of us are experiencing a sense of frustration and disruption around Christmas. We are under intense pressure to spend more – even though we know that prices have suddenly been hiked – whilst at the same time aware that we have other essentials to take care of. Traffic congestion in cities and towns is causing havoc upon our plans and schedules. And much of the current news we read and hear, both overseas and at home, is not giving us much hope and peace of mind. Yet Christmas is now here and we are celebrating it!
The first Christmas was also a story of interruptions and disruptions. Who would have thought that God would send His only Son from heaven to enter this sinful world? This is the greatest interruption of all! Consider the intrusion that the angels, and the baby, and those gawking shepherds caused to Mary and Joseph; of how Mary’s life was interrupted when the angel Gabriel appeared and told her she would bear God’s son. Imagine how devastated Joseph was when he learned of Mary’s pregnancy, knowing that the baby wasn’t his. Imagine Mary travelling by foot and donkey to sign and register for tax purposes when she was already nine months pregnant! And the anxiety and nervousness of finding no place to deliver the baby. Imagine further chaos and interruption as they fled to Egypt to escape the paranoid King Herod, who had wanted to kill all the little children. What a Christmas that was!
What is clear is that the birth of Jesus Christ tells us that God’s answer to our human brokenness, sin, and wickedness was not to condemn the world but to enter into human flesh in order to redeem us. The Bible tells us that, “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Jesus came to reveal to us the power of God’s forgiveness and grace, which changes human hearts from the inside out. Jesus was born a vulnerable baby to reveal to us that God’s love is greater than the power of division, conflict, and even death!
The Christmas story teaches us one of the most difficult, yet profound, truths about God, that God sometimes disrupts our lives – commanding our attention, disorienting us, calling us to make room for Him in our hearts and our lives. Jesus is God’s greatest ‘intrusion’ on the world and into our lives.
Jesus is called Emmanuel, meaning ‘God with us’. When God is with us, we are surprised, interrupted, awakened. When God is with us our imaginations are stretched; our love is magnified; making us powerful and courageous instruments of God’s disruptive presence in our communities, enabling mercy and love to prevail over bigotry, divisions, suspicion, violence and abuse. Yes, with the love, mercy, and grace of God, we will see transformed lives, families, political processes, businesses, and communities. Christmas reminds us of our responsibility to glorify and praise God, thanking God for the gift of His Son Jesus Christ.
The joyful images of Christmas may lead us to forget those who have been forgotten by the world. Millions of refugees are trying to find a place in the inn, all around the world. In our communities, there are those who are marginalised and ostracised. Christ is Emmanuel, with us wherever we are: in distress, in difficulty, in poverty, in sickness. God has not forgotten us! When the world tells us there is no place, there is always a place in God’s love and God’s heart.
In this season of goodwill, we have an opportunity to reconnect, reach out and visit friends and neighbours for whom this may be a difficult, lonely and anxious time. This is also an opportune time for us to build bridges, friendships and understanding. I am looking forward to receiving friends from all faiths to my Open House on Christmas Day. We are delighted and humbled by the confirmation received from the Astana and the Chief Minister’s Office that both the Acting Head of State Tan Sri Datuk Amar Bujang Nor and Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg will be attending. We look forward to welcoming our Acting-TYT, Chief Minister, and their entourages. Surely such noble and honourable gestures augur well for Sarawak, as a land of peace and harmony, understanding and respect.
May the peace and joy which Jesus brings be yours. May your heart and home be filled with the blessings of this blessed season. Have a Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year 2018!
The Right Reverend Danald Jute is Bishop of the Anglican Church in Sarawak and Brunei, which is known as the Diocese of Kuching.