The timeless Christmas message
Two feasts are observed by the Christian faith that are central and foundational, namely the feast of the incarnation and the feast of the resurrection. It is interesting to note that in the liturgical calendar of the Church, both these feasts are observed after a period of preparation, devotion and reflection (self and corporate). These periods or seasons as they are referred to are Advent and Lent.
Lent is a time of fasting, prayer, resolution and abstinence culminating with Holy or Passion Week, where the events of Maundy Thursday (the institution of the Lord’s Supper), Good Friday and Holy Saturday herald Easter or the feast of the Resurrection).
The season of Advent is not intended to prepare for Christ’s first coming as a helpless baby although that is the most misunderstood and convenient perception that many would feel comfortable with. After all, what can be expected from a helpless infant born to poor parents in a stable? This helpless babe is Emmanuel, God with us - a profound truth that mystifies many.
The story of the incarnation also draws our attention to some of the lesser-known people who would often be on the fringes of society and yet we see how they become important instruments through which the good news of the birth of the Saviour is conveyed. Why would God be interested in partnering with shepherds, the innkeeper, a young woman in Mary, the mother of Jesus or Joseph, a littleknown carpenter from Nazareth? Significantly the good news of Christ was indeed glad tidings to all these people who would have been victims in some way of an oppressive system.
Yet despite all the external realities, God finds a way to be with us, the good news of Christmas.
The Christmas story is timeless! Nothing much has changed in the world since the birth of the Christ child. Just as it was around the time of the birth of the Christ child, many nations seem to be under the tyrannical rule of modern-day emperors who unaware that they are accountable, don’t seem to know how they ought to discharge the authority and power that has been bestowed on them. This is often seen in the ill-informed decisions made with no process of objective consultation resulting in devastating consequences for the poor and vulnerable people in the wider community.
Despite these realities as they happened many thousands of years ago, the rulers seem to be placing heavy and unbearable burdens upon the people in the form of taxes. So again nothing much has changed as the world is still in the grip of oppressive elements.
What the traditional narratives we hear at this time of the year will not tell us is that despite being set in an oppressive system, business was thriving, inns were full with little or no space for this young couple in need of support and assistance. Amidst all of this, there was an innkeeper with an element of humanity who offered them a stable.
There is also the element of human emotion to consider; we must not miss the situation of a young mother about to give birth to her firstborn, and the place in which she is compelled to do so. Having to nurse a newborn infant amid the animals in the stable made the little infant vulnerable to what most today will consider a high risk from a health and safety perspective.
The scene is also full of symbolism - a house with a downstairs facility for animals providing heat for humans who live upstairs. The fact that Jesus was born downstairs and lay amidst the feeding animals in a sense gives us a glimpse of what God enacts through the incarnation - of God coming from down from heaven and taking the form of an earthly being while the people for whom he came were ignorant or even more oblivious to what was taking place in their midst - a contemporary paraphrasing of John 1: 10.
Isn't this the irony of life today? How open are those who profess faith in Christ to these windows of opportunity to reach out and empower or share life? Much of the world today is in the hands of those who would rob humanity of its dignity. We cannot be engrossed in ourselves not to notice this fact if we believe that we see God in each other.
The shepherds in the story are overjoyed to be informed by the angels about what is happening, that the days of being under the thumb of Caesar were soon coming to an end as a result of what they were being informed. With the angels leaving the shepherds, the shepherds become the angels, the ones who carry this message of joy and liberation. Little did they realise that they had now become angelic messengers, some of the earliest apostles.
By the time the story became public knowledge, some things remained unchanged and some things had changed. The presence of oppression and oppressive regimes exist in the world and the fact that people have no room for Jesus in their lives. What has changed is the fact that God has broken into time and space. His presence makes even the most powerful feel insecure and vulnerable. The Shepherds (whose work is often unnoticed or can be considered menial) were transformed by the message of joy.
We too can become similar heralds of Joy, Peace and Life as the essence of the message of the good news is experienced in people.
This is the good news of Christmas.