CHRISTMAS NOTES

‘I never went to religion to find comfort. I always knew that a bottle of Port could do that. If anyone wants to come to religion to find comfort, I would certainly not recommend Christianity.’-C.S.Lewis

December always brings with itself an air of celebration. During my childhood, the last month of Roman calendar would bring new clothes, long leisure and cosy winter wear. The season of Christmas was always associated with gifts and fern trees decorated with cards and bells.  25^th December is a holiday with no school and good food. Though my mom would say that it was not about Biryani but Christ who was born for us, it hardly sustained my attention beyond the confines of the carols and cathedral. In my college, I began to understand what Christmas was really about. Every year I read through the pages that are called Gospels. And each time I read new and radical themes come forth. These thoughts, cause unrest and joy in equal proportion. This year on the Christmas Eve I was in OR 3 of CMC main theatre with a stable patient undergoing orthopaedic surgery. I read through the New Testament chapters in a cursory fashion. This is what I found from the historic occurrence of the birth of Christ. 

1.       Just because you are agent of good, life is not going to be any easy:  The story starts in a village in Galilee when two Jewish teenagers are engaged for Holy Matrimony. The girl is devout and faithful. The boy is fervent in keeping the law and is of good repute. This marriage is threatened because of Divine intervention as Mary conceives by the Holy Spirit. Joseph the boy is troubled and wants to get rid of the girl. But an Angel comes to him and explains the whole cosmic plan. I just attempt to think what fear and confusion they would have undergone. Mary would have imagined the stoning to death for adultery and Joseph a public embarrassment. Soon, he had to take his wife who was gravid pregnant for a three day journey to Bethlehem for Roman census. They had no pre-booked accommodation and  had to stay in a stable to deliver Jesus.

As I thought of this couple who raised Jesus, I understood that just because we do the right things, life is not going to be easy. Just because you work for God and His principles, we are not going to get a fairer chance in our pursuits. Our finances will be as frail, our work will be as tough and competition as close as anyone else. Life was not easy for Jesus in His most delicate form. Do not expect it to be easy for you. But that is not all.

2.       Universal confluence but personal grace: Caesar Augustus was the greatest emperor of the Roman history. He had the vision of bringing peace to the whole kingdom and those were the days of no war and stable governance. The Caesar in the zenith of his glory decided to count his people. All men and women above 18 who had to pay poll tax had to go back to their native land for numbering. The Caesar’s order was carried out throughout the region that made Mary and Joseph pack their bags for a journey. The king thought he was in control

But 700 years before this incident, the prophet Isaiah told the Jews that the Saviour would be born in Bethlehem. Caesar’s idea of census was actually the plan of God. The whole global scene was unfolding for His plan to come to pass. Kings and empires were passing orders to this effect. Christmas is another example to testify that God’s plan will come to pass in its time. He can use various channels sometimes apparently opposing means to fulfil His plan in our lives. Some difficulty, circumstance and person in our lives as troublesome they may appear may be God's plan to bring out something good. 

The other aspect of the journey to Bethlehem is the grace each one is offered in leading their lives. Joseph and Mary had problems. The birth of Jesus was in a threatened environment but they could do their part in the eternal story by the grace offered to them. Angels intervened, wise men rebelled, shepherds visited and all these were tokens of grace towards the obedient couple. Christmas in that sense is not just a day for practicality but also a day for hope. We need to move on. We need to obey His voice and for things that are beyond our reach, His help is always at hand. Our duties will be difficult, our families may be troubled but Christmas offers us a remainder that grace is given to those who ask for it and move in obedience.

3.       Take time and look around:  In a startling reversal of social order, the Angels did not visit Caesar or Herod or even the High Priest in Jerusalem. The wise men and the shepherds were given the intimation that the Saviour of the world was born. One group the most advanced brains of the era looking at stars and galaxies while the other laymen who knew only animals and agriculture. No doctors, politicians, writers or journalists were ever informed of this spectacle. I pondered why. I realised that they had no time for the acts of God in our lives. We also are struck in the rigmarole of routine and are restricted by the dictates of schedules. If I received an invitation to visit the baby Jesus in the manger today would I leave my appointments and leave? It would really be a battle on my mind. Bible scholars say that the wise men who presented gifts to Jesus were on their way for at least 2 years pursuing the star in the sky. They really took time. They really wanted to go the root of the issue unlike our new age atheists who declare worldviews without an iota of depth in scientific thinking. 

Christmas was a time that involved both the intellectual and the laymen. It appealed both to the innocent and the rational. It is a clarion call to all irrespective of backgrounds and educational levels. Christmas is a time for God and it is in knowing Him that Christmas will find its truest meaning. It reveals my duty and also offers me hope. It gives me the secret to appreciate God in my life by teaching me to take time. Christmas also breaks down any unrealistic wants and expectations I have about God. In short it troubles and consoles; it is a celebration and a challenge. Who said Christmas is an easy season?