CHRISTMAS: WITNESSING TO GOD’S JOY & PEACE
Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah
The Message of Jesus to the world is, Peace, Joy, Love, Justice and Reconciliation. Christmas offers us a chance to pause and ask what we have done with the light of Christ that we received at baptism. Have we kept it shining or is it under the table? (Mt. 5: 14ff). When we fail to act in the footsteps of Christ, we are keeping our light under the table.
The forces of secularism are determined to empty Christmas of its core essence which is the good news of joy and light to the world. Christmas is increasingly being seen as another holiday or at best, one of the greatest opportunities for smart business returns. We have refused to accept the warning of Jesus that we cannot serve two masters (Matt. 6:2). Today, our world is ravaged by the effects of the seven deadly sins, Pride, Greed, Lust, Envy, Gluttony, Wrath, and Sloth. The world has lost its moral compass and violence has engulfed our world. The drums of war and death now threaten to drown the good news of the joy that Jesus brought into the world. Nowhere is this tragedy better expressed than in the place where Jesus was born. Today, the baby Jesus lies not in the innocence of swaddling clothes in Bethlehem but in the pool of blood that has now engulfed Gaza and its surrounding communities.
Yet, again, Christmas offers us a time for deep personal reflections on the values and virtues of the Christian witness. The Catholic Church does not allow us to sleep-walk into Christmas based on a date on a calendar. We have a four-week period of meditation and reflection called Advent, marking the coming of Christ. During Advent, we are reminded of the entry of Jesus into human history. Jesus did not just announce to the world that he had been sent by God. No. His arrival was the fulfilment of hundreds of years of prophesies detailing how He would enter human history with his name, time and place of birth and by who. The prophet Isaiah said: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” (Is. 7: 14) We even have an address of His place of birth: But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” (Micah 5:2).
When he entered the world, he ticked all the boxes of all the prophesies. He came not as a prophet, but as the fulfilment of all prophesies. His entry itself was full of contradictions. Everything was in sharp contrast to world standards. He was born on a cold winter night and there was no accommodation (Lk. 2: 7). The frightened shepherds huddled together in the cold were the first to hear the good news. The angel announced; “Fear not, I bring you good news of great joy, today, a Saviour has been born in the city of David” (Lk. 2:10). The news of his birth sent fear into Herod the potentate who, feeling threatened, proceeded to order the murder of all children born around the time of the birth of Jesus (Mt. 2:16). When the child Jesus was brought to the temple, the devout Simeon who had waited all his life for the fulfilment of this prophesy exclaimed: “At last o powerful master, your servant can now go in peace” (Lk. 2: 9ff).
Christmas evokes the sentiments expressed by the prophet Isaiah who said: “A nation that walked in darkness has seen a great light, those who dwelt in the land of deep darkness, on them a light has shone” (Is. 9: 2). The Nigerian rendition of this text will be: a nation that walked in darkness cannot see a light because the national grid keeps collapsing. After over fifty years, Nigeria is unable to climb out of the darkness to which it has been sunk. John said: “This is the verdict: the light has come into the world, but people prefer darkness to light because our deeds are evil” (Jn. 3: 19). Nigeria’s lack of visible and measurable progress is tied to the fact that we have chosen darkness rather than light. Imagine if we let the light shine on our public service, on our politics, on our individual, community and national life, on our public institutions. Imagine what Nigeria would be like if we chose light instead of darkness. Let us therefore heed the words of the old Christian song; They will know we are Christians by our lives.
Our journey to greatness is still severely constrained by the forces of ethnicity, nepotism, and greed. There is still the lingering anxiety that ethnicity and religion trump common citizenship in terms of access to opportunities. Feelings of exclusion drive citizens to the fringes of violence and frustration. We are still unable to come to terms with the ideals of our national anthem that says: though tribe and tongue may differ, in brotherhood we stand. Diversity is a gift of God. Let us use it effectively as a tool for national mobilization and cohesion.
In 2018, the passage of the Not Too Young to Run Bill was widely greeted by young people who believed that the doors had now opened for their active engagement in politics. After a few elections, many young people have been elected at various levels. This is commendable. However, problems of internal democracy, the costs of running for public office, still remain major obstacles for youth participation in politics. The enactment of the Student Loan Act, 2024, and the setting up of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, NELFUND, by the federal government are very commendable gestures towards the youth. It is significant that the Act does not limit access only to university students but to those also seeking vocational or technical skills. It is hoped that this project will be free of the usual bureaucratic bottlenecks and favouritism so as to expand the scope of opportunities for our youth and their parents. Hopefully, in future, poverty should not exclude anyone from a good education. We encourage the youth to seize this opportunity with both hands.
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We are not out of the woods yet in terms of getting a firm grip on the security situation in our country. However, we note that some progress has been made. A comprehensive work plan to secure our nation, with clear datelines, must be put in place. Insecurity is the first child of corruption. We cannot win the war against insecurity without addressing the issues of unemployment and violent religious extremism which create the conditions for violence. Religious extremism can only be resolved if the government employs the force of the law and prosecutes the perpetrators as criminals and murderers.
I appeal to Christians not to forget that we are the light of the world, the city on the hill that cannot be hidden. Christians must not allow the structural weaknesses, the foibles and failures of the Nigerian state, to become an excuse for doing wrong. We cannot continue to blame the Constitution, the Judiciary, the Police, or other public servants for the corruption in our society. Corruption is another word for our not keeping the words and promises we made at baptism as Christians. We swore to be faithful to Christ at baptism before we encountered the Constitution. The Constitution is a human instrument with limitations and flaws. However, the Word of God is a divine command and inerrant. Good Christians have the laws of God written in their hearts (2 Cor. 3:3) They need no other law.
The tragedies that occurred in Okija, Ibadan, and Abuja where innocent people lost their lives in stampedes at food distribution points are a metaphor for the situation of desperation that citizens have been thrown into. The failures of government to respond concretely toward ending the horrible crisis of hunger and desperation has created the conditions for these avoidable tragedies. Citizens are lapsing into despair. The Catholic Church is not new to providing succour for the needy and vulnerable. Under the auspices of St. Vincent de Paul, the Church continues to provide succour to the poor across the wider society. These tragedies were avoidable. Government needs to work more closely with institutions that help to promote the common good of our society. May God grant eternal rest to the dead and console their families. It is the duty of government to ensure minimum dignity for our people.
This year, the Holy Father, Pope Francis, issued an Encyclical Letter entitled, Dilexit Nos (He loved Us). In it, he warned that: A society dominated by narcissism and self-centeredness will increasingly become heartless, trapped in walls of our own making, no longer capable of healthy relationships. Christmas, with its message of joy, calls us out of the cocoon in which selfishness traps us, and frees us to love tenderly. When Jesus asked His apostles to take the Gospel to all the ends of the earth, it was because He was offering salvation to all humanity. Let us therefore now open out hearts and renew our commitment to living the ideal for which Jesus came into the world. My wishes for a blessed Christmas. May the new year bring us blessings and peace.
