This is Christmas

Guest editorial by Bishop Stephen Brislin

Awake, mankind, says St Augustine. For your sake God has become man. Awake, you who sleep, rise up from the dead, and Christ will enlighten you. I tell you again: for your sake, God became man (sermon 185).

Augustine’s appeal to his people is an appeal to respond urgently to the birth of Christ and to understand the meaning of this event. Augustines urgency is as relevant today as it was then. The silly season is far removed from the true meaning of Christmas, which is our celebration of Emmanuel, God-is-with-us.

Perhaps the true meaning of Christmas began to lose its meaning long ago. Early Christians, not knowing the exact date of Jesus birth, seem to have adopted the pagan feast of the sun, when the days in the northern hemisphere become longer. For the best of pastoral reasons they hoped to Christianise this pagan feast. But much of what is pagan remained, and so it is today.

Christmas is characterised by rampant consumerism, materialism and self-indulgence. Pagan practices continue to influence the Christian celebration of Christmas: excessive partying, spending. Pressure to buy presents beyond the household budget inevitably leads to misery rather than the joyful occasion it should be.

Christmas becomes symbolic of greed which is rampant even in the public domain. The economic melt-down of Western countries, corruption among public and other leaders, the illicit use of pensioners savings by trustees for personal gain are all examples of uncontrolled greed.

Many disruptions in the world, such as the war raging in the Kivu region of the Congo and so called religious wars, are usually rooted in a battle for the control of resources rather than any major political or religious difference. The pursuit of self-interest is the abandonment of conscience and an unfeeling, uncaring attitude to the plight of others and their suffering. The obsession for accumulation and power are counter to the values inherent in the Incarnation.

The potentially volatile political situation developing in South Africa can be understood as a struggle for power and control of resources. The irresponsible language and behaviour of some leaders is creating a sense of insecurity. Use of emotive words and hate speech, coupled with actions of disruption, shows scant regard not only for constitutional rights such as of freedom of association, but also Christian values of respect for others and upholding human dignity.

In his Christmas message of 2006, Pope Benedict poses the question: Who needs a Saviour? The problems that afflict the world remind us that we do all need a Saviour. There can be a tendency to relegate Jesus to a role-model, a holy man, rather than Saviour. Some may even see Jesus as a divisive figure, a stumbling block to inter-faith relations. Many, particularly in wealthy countries, have lost a sense of their own need of a Saviour because they have become so self-reliant materially. Individualism and self-gratification are often the cause of many losing their sense of sinfulness. If you do not recognise sinfulness in yourself, you see no need of a Saviour. Re-affirming Christ as Saviour is the first step.

What then ought the feast of Christmas be for Christians? The Incarnation is an act of solidarity with every person. The Israelites had an inkling of the intimacy of God: What great nation is there that has a god so near to it, as the Lord our God is to us? (Deut 4:7). But God taking human flesh is a sharing in the very life of God.

We are raised from a purely human life to participating in the divine life. The Incarnation changes our relationships. Relationship with God is changed, precisely because we are saved from death and brought into life and are brought into intimacy with him. This does not imply that Jesus is our equal with a false familiarity. There is closeness and friendship, but God remains God and we remain the created.

Through the Incarnation, our relationships with others are also changed. Some speculate that there would never have been a United Nations if it were not for Christianity. It is through faith that we understand the family of nations, and that faith breaks down every barrier of discrimination: we are a people from every nation, tribe and tongue.

Therefore there is a responsibility for each other, a responsibility to care for people, to work for an end of all that continues to enslave people, whether it be poverty, intimidation or any other evil.

The beginning of such a caring and compassionate attitude is a commitment to living a moral life, because through adherence to morals we can serve the common good, avoid doing harm to neighbour, and deal with others justly. Rather than giving way to greed and self-gratification, morality prompts us to share resources, and like Jesus to give ourselves in the service of others. Morality depends on conscience, that inner barometer that helps us discern good from evil. Conscience can so easily be silenced, particularly when living in a society where conscience is not valued.

St Augustine is right to be urgent in his appeal for us to arise and wake up. We have work to do as Christians and as Catholics. There is a spiritual thirst in the world, many are seeking for truth and for the source of goodness.

Christ is the source and it is when we allow Christ to be visible, to continually be born in our lives and the Church, that we can make his love, compassion and salvation visible and real for others.

That is Christmas.

Bishop Brislin heads the diocese of Kroonstad