Christ in Christmas

The joy of God goes through the poverty of the manger and the agony of the cross; that is why it is invincible, irrefutable. It does not deny the anguish, when it is there, but finds God in the midst of it, in fact precisely there; it does not deny grave sin but finds forgiveness precisely in this way; it looks death straight in the eye but finds life precisely within it. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Conspiracy and Imprisonment: 1940–1945

Streets are deserted as the wind whispers its cold breath against closed doors, sending a silent echo in the soul of this city. Bethlehem is empty this Christmas. 

From life to death, beginning to new beginnings, Bethlehem to Calvary holds historical significance for Christians around the world. Historians have considered Jerusalem as a Pythian city which exhausts itself in preserving the most ancient past and auguring the most distant future, held under pressure in an almost infinite chronological arc from Genesis to Apocalypse.  I wonder if similar sentiment stands for Bethlehem. Its Church of Nativity is renowned for and revered by many as location of Christ's birth (despite scholarly debates and division over whether it is here or Nazareth or non-existent altogether). 

The former glory and glow of Christmas is no more this year. Manger Square is the heart of a ghost town in mourning. In a nearby church, Christ's cradle is nestled in debris of death and destruction. A nativity in rubble to represent Gaza genocide. Celebrations are cancelled in Bethlehem as the city grieves and sadness spreads across the Holy Land.  It is a striking scene in contrast to what is a season of special celebration and a time of festivity for many people these days. Yet, what is indeed Christmas?

In 1038, we find the first use of the word "Christmas". Short for "Christ's mass", it was recorded in Middle English as Crīstesmæsse and in Old English as Cristes-messe. Crīst is from the Greek word of Khrīstos (Χριστός), a translation of the Hebrew word Māšîaḥ (מָשִׁיחַ), meaning "anointed" and mæsse is from the Latin word missa, the celebration of the Eucharist. Unlike the name, history of Christmas does not begin with Christ. In fact, the actual date of Christ's birth is not on Christmas. The fact that Christmas falls around the same time as the winter solstice and the ancient Roman festival of Saturnalia is no coincidence as many Christmas rituals evolved from pagan rites.

From the Roman celebration of god Mithras on 25 December came a festival that was adopted by the Christian Church to commemorate the Nativity. When was Christ even born? In the oldest surviving Christian chronology written in AD221, the historian Julius Africanus postulated that Jesus was conceived on 25 March which later became known as Lady Day. Yet, the prominence of Christmas increased over the time and by Tudor times, preparation for the Yuletide season began weeks in advance. The forty days before Christmas were called Advent, which was a season of expectation and atonement. Because of Advent, tradition demanded that houses were not decorated for the festive season until Christmas Eve.

As for Christmas decorations, evergreens had long been deemed miraculous for staying alive while other plants died so they were seen to symbolise eternal life. Carrying evergreens into the house was held to bring good fortune but not before Christmas Eve as it was a superstition since the ancient Druids. Holly, ivy and mistletoe had been used since pre-Christian times to celebrate the winter solstice. Although there was a medieval tradition that Christ's cross had been formed from the wood of the mystical mistletoe tree and the claim that holly symbolises Christ's crown of thorns, these decorations are part of distorted rites and rituals. As for the custom of decorating a Christmas tree, well, it did not become popular in England until the 19th century.

The list goes on. From the pagan tradition of yule log since Viking times to the Tudor feasting after Advent fasting, you have turkey's rise to popularity as a Christmas dish by the end of Elizabeth's reign, Christmas pudding's evolution from a kind of suet pudding in Tudor times and mince pies made with shredded leftover meats in commemoration of the shepherds (there were supposed to be 13 ingredients in honour of Christ and His Apostles!). Add Lindt chocolate from modern day commercialisation and prawns for an Aussie Christmas, just to name a few, it's become a concoction and cacophony of whatever we make of Christmas.

There is none of these in Bethlehem this Christmas. The sombre city marks Christmas with a powerful and poignant message - solidarity with Palestine - as the Holy Family Cave depicts a harrowing tableau of a bombed out version of the traditional nativity cave. Surrounded by rubble and barbed wire, the Virgin Mary embraces the baby Jesus, while Joseph embraces her, offering solace. On one side of the family, the Magi holds out a white shroud. On the other side, the fourth shepherd carries a bag as a symbol of Palestinian displacement. We cannot help but wonder what have we done?

Bethlehem is Bet Leḥem in Hebrew (בֵּית לֶחֶם) that means "house of bread". As the Gospel stated in the New Testament that "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God." (Matthew 4:4), are we lost in the materialistic manna of this broken world? Have we forgotten God's divine providence and provision to feed the Israelites and to give us the living water? Did we completely miss the meaning of an extraordinary thing that is the birth of a God that came into our world through Christ as an imprint of His character so that we can see what God is like?

We were made in the image of God in creation, tasked with representing God to the world and the world to God - of doing what God would have done and liked us to do. Yet, how miserably did we fail and fall when we were supposed to be what Christ is like but in the end, God had to send his only son who is more truly human than anyone before or since as he has fulfilled the calling we had in representing the heart of God to the world in human form. He is the firstborn over all creation and it is in Christ, we see Adam's original role over creation fulfilled and our sins atoned on the cross. If we want to see what God is like, we can look to Christ and if we want to understand what human beings ought to be like, we can see it from Christ as he fulfilled the original calling despite the fall of Adam and Eve that broke a created world into a broken world of today.

So have a turkey or don't have a turkey, celebrate or don't celebrate Christmas. 

But have God, the Son and the Holy Spirit firmly in your heart for Christ in Christmas is what it calls for.

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ChatGPT Version (by feeding the blog "On Pain and Suffering")

In homage to the divine occasion of Christmas, a celebration anchored in the Christian faith, where the joyous carols and festive lights echo the profound story of the birth of Jesus Christ—a narrative that transcends the glitter and glow.

In a world where the true essence of Christmas often contends with the commercial glitter, this festive season holds a sacred place. A realm where the sociocultural tapestry may sometimes overshadow the spiritual significance of Christ’s birth. Amidst the exchanging of gifts and the merry gatherings, the true Christian meaning beckons believers to reflect on the miraculous story that unfolded in Bethlehem.

Just as a great man faced suffering with silent dignity, Christmas brings forth the story of a humble virgin, Mary, who brought forth the Son of God. The narrative is not merely about a manger but the divine purpose it signifies—the incarnation of God to reconcile humanity with Himself. It’s an invitation to ponder the profound message of love, redemption, and hope that emanates from the nativity narrative.

Much like the Hindu view of karma, Christmas calls for acceptance and detachment—acknowledging the divine plan unfolding through the birth of Jesus. The celebration aligns with the Christian understanding that suffering is not eradicated but redeemed through Christ’s sacrifice. It echoes the sentiment that in Christ’s birth, God intervened to share in the human experience and to provide a path to salvation.

For Christians, Christmas is not just a commemoration but an acknowledgment that God cares about the human experience. The narrative unfolds in a world where, like the Garden of Eden, suffering is woven into the fabric of human existence. Yet, in the Christmas story, believers find solace, seeing in the birth of Christ evidence that God embraces humanity’s joys and sorrows.

This piece is not a scholarly exposition but a fictional exploration, a reflection on the enduring spirit of Christmas that transcends the tinsel and lights, revealing the transformative power of the divine love manifested in the birth of Jesus Christ.