At the outset, I wish you a blessed and Christ-centred Merry Christmas this beautiful morning. May the love, Joy and Peace of this Christmas season be with you and your family! As I wrote this article, I reflected on a thought, what is Christmas without ChristIJ Christmas is incomplete without the Christ in it. We usually celebrate Christmas without really knowing about Christ. Who was heIJ What was heIJ What did he stand forIJ Christmas is not about Jingle Bells songs, Christmas trees, Santa Clauses, Christmas cakes and lavish parties. They are simply spin-offs of a consumer-centric age. Today, I will focus on the Christ in Christmas than Christmas as an event which involves Christ. You might feel why it is essential. But in this world of increasing violence, strife and pain, where the core values of humanity are perpetually shifting, the values and life of Christ come this season as a balm to the pain and scars of life.
Many centuries before Christ was born, prophet Isaiah stated in the Book of Isaiah, “For to 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 Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Christ was the prophesy come true many centuries later. He was and is the Prince of Peace. He healed broken relationships, he mended broken hearts. Where there was no love, he sowed the seeds of love. Where there was hate, he brought forgiveness, and wherever there was pain, he was the soothing balm.
Many people in the world today are lonely. They have families, a wife, children, profession, but there seems to be a vacuum. They seek the truth; what is the true meaning of lifeIJ It was this truth that Christ espoused through his life. Christ said if you love yourself or your family and friends then what great deed have you doneIJ You have love in you if you can love your enemies. Jesus said that if someone slaps you on the right cheek, show him the other cheek. He did not stand for destroying the evil but showed the path of life of love and forgiveness to reform and provide salvation to all of humanity.
Christmas comes true for us if we seek to follow this path of love, sacrifice and forgiveness. How many times I feel agitated then people instigate against me. How many times I feel unhappy and jealous when someone supersedes me. I feel agitated when people unfairly target me with their unpleasant acts. But then, Christmas comes to us this season with the message of hope and forgiveness. lord Jesus Christ sacrificed his life for us on the Cross of Calvary as the ultimate sacrifice for mankind. He did not feel agitated that the people crucified him, pierced his hands and legs with large nails, speared him in the chest; put a crown of thorns on his head. But Jesus simply said to God, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they doIJ” That is the true message of forgiveness. If we celebrate Christmas today, let us do this with fun-filled carols and merrymaking but also remembering this message of love and forgiveness shown by Christ.
Jesus Christ chose to be born in a manger, surrounded by livestock of sheep and cows in a very lowly place. He did not seek the comforts of kings and palaces. He did not seek to be felicitated by the world, but on Christmas, Christ comes to you with his message of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control for all mankind.
As I read through the newspapers every morning, I find increasing events of violence, pain, terrorism and anguish. Man against man, man against nature, man against the core values of humanity. Torn between debates of tolerance versus intolerance, depletion of human values and a society caught in the quagmire between good and bad. In this scenario, the true message of Christmas comes alive. Can we love and forgive our enemiesIJ Can we build peace and harmony in the societyIJ Can we respect and adore our fellow human beingsIJ Can we lead a life of joy, peace and brotherhood among all in this worldIJ let us try to work on these aspects from this Christmas. let this Christmas not end for us today with Santa Clauses and cakes. But let us take forward this message of Jesus Christ to serve humanity and seek to build a just and humane society; a world with love; a world with peace; a world sans the strife it lives with.
let this Christmas be a meaningful Christmas. Consumerism and materialism in form of joyous celebration is not wrong, but if we celebrate without understanding the true essence of Christmas, the entire merrymaking of Christmas is futile. let us live the life that Jesus Christ wanted us to live; loving and forgiving our enemies and building a society on the foundations of peace, joy and brotherhood. Then, all these debates of tolerance and intolerance will not find any space in society; and we will live our lives as expected by God, as human beings helping each other rather than tearing apart each other. May Christmas season bring a new freshness, a new hope and a new strength today and through this New Year! May lord Jesus Christ bless us all! Merry Christmas!
(The writer is president of Odisha Minority Forum. His views expressed here are personal and do not subscribe to any organisational or institutional affiliations)