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Vol 19 No 11 |
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The
official gazette of the Diocese of Port Elizabeth: |
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Quick Links: Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4 | Top | Homepage PAGE 3 • The Bishop writes ... My Dear friends in Christ Living Christmas each day Greetings! Amazingly another Christmas tide is upon us! We cannot help but think of the words of the psalmist: “For all our days have passed away in your wrath; we finish our years like a sigh.” Ps. 90:9. Let us therefore look at Christmas in three ways: Fact, Faith and Feeling of Christmas. The Fact remains that at some point in the course of life events, God broke into human history to take control of peoples’ affairs. Three evangelists do not hesitate to articulate this event in their own style. For Matthew it is a meeting of the old and new. Tracing the genealogy of the Christ from Abraham to David and David to Babylonian captivity and from there till Christ is 42 generations, 14 in between each. Matt 1:17. Then the birth of Christ follows chronologically with some actors involved in accordance with God’s plan of salvation. 1:18ff. For Luke, the physician, the story of Christmas is a thorough research of a narrative which fulfils the things that have taken place. The orderly account is the first Apology, (the second being the Book of Acts 1:1ff) to the most excellent Theophilus who obviously holds a higher position in the Roman government. Then the story begins with the birth of John the Baptist, the Forerunner of the good news of Jesus Christ. Lk 1:5ff. The philosophical approach of John puts the logos, the word, in the very beginning of creation. With the witness of John the baptizer to the Light, the logos transforms the illegitimate to the birthright by adoption into the fellowship of the children of God of those who believe, full of grace and truth. Jn 1:1ff. That which is from above brings to new birth that which is below, so that the earthly may bear the image of the heavenly. Mark sees the story as the beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, heralded by John the Baptist. For him the proclamation of God’s rule is what matters, rather than the account of the virgin birth. Without going into any further depth, we may conclude that the Scriptures are not hesitant about the fact of Christmas. It happened at a point in the history of humans. The Faith of Christmas, as in an African setting of birth narratives, brings two realms of human understanding of Divine Intervention together. The heavenly realm reaches out to the earthly realm, and the two meet because a child is born. As in the marital life contained in each family, a child is received joyfully (except perhaps in an Islamic view), the birth of the baby Jesus unites the earthly with the heavenly by the faith of the obedient. The exact calendar date of the birth of Jesus is not an issue. The fact of his birth is received by faith as a kick off in the long journey of faith of each and every individual, through the waters of the sacrament of Baptism within a worshipping community. When we were in the church of the Nativity in Bethlehem recently, a deep sense of faith, combined with a feeling of gratitude as we descended the steps leading to the basement and the manger in which our Lord was physically laid, overwhelmed us. Thanks to the work archaeologists have done in throwing more light on what faith has achieved throughout the ages. Filled with a sense of awe, we said our prayers for the wider church to grow from strength to strength both numerically and in the quality of faith, despite our own frailty. The Feeling Christmas brings is that of joy at the glad tidings of the arrival of God among humans to take control of their affairs. The story of incarnation is told each year to regenerate a new character in each believer and each person who is obedient to the Word. It is the feeling of the all embracing love of God, who so loves, that he gives, and gives sacrificially. It is a feeling from a compassionate heart, reaching out to the masses of the voiceless, faceless and powerless human beings at our doorsteps far and wide. It is a feeling that stimulates the quest for an attitude of servanthood; first to the Lord who loves us so much, and secondly, out of that love to render due service regardless, except for a denarius a day. Mtt 20:1-16. The service could be seen in four categories of the quest for fundamental values, namely: Human dignity needs to be affirmed for all, in the midst of greed, selfish ambition, negligence of duty, poor governance etc. There can be no sense of dignity when the majority of the people of this land live in abject poverty with no food, jobs, nor shelter over their heads and no clothes/ blankets.Liberty is the second virtue which governments n need to protect. Some religions, political parties, caste groupings, families and communities are sometimes guilty parties in denying their associates the freedom to choose with whom to associate or to live where they prefer. Equality is the third value pointing us to the fact that all people do not only share a God-given freedom within his command, but are also equal before the law. Colour, race or creed can never be criteria for such a notion. Safety and security dispels the fear of the unknown as well. In the “good old days”, people feared dangerous animals and reptiles, and would feel secure in the presence of other human beings. Today it is people who inflict and abuse other fellow human beings. No one has a right to cause pain to anybody, be it physical, spiritual, mental or emotional. That is abuse. It should stop. (Nazir-Ali, +Michael: The Unique and Universal Christ). These values complete the job description of what the church should bring as good news to all peoples of the earth within the song of the angels at that first Christmas night as the shepherds watched their flock: “Glory to god in the highest, And on earth peace, Goodwill towards people” Lk 2:13-14. Let us remember always that the church is a beneficiary to
those outside it, in bringing all of them to the love of God through
our Lord Jesus Christ. May God grant us grace to live Christmas
everyday at home and in the market place, until all these virtues
translate into good life for all his people. Yours in love of Christ, The theme of the day was ‘Let’s promote a healthy
lifestyle through physical activities.’ The thrill was not in
winning but in having the heart and endurance to start and finish the
race. The benefits from the exercise were: to reduce stress; make
one fit and strong; promote healthy heart and lungs; maintain, or
reduce, body mass. The mothers were noticeably joyful and excited about the
exposure saying, “It was fun. We can’t wait until the next
one.”
Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk. Quick Links: Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4 | Top | Homepage |
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