The Message of Christmas

By Fr. Shay Cullen

Soon the Christian churches in the Philippines and around the world will be full on Christmas night celebrating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, savior of the world. Christians believe that Jesus came to save us from sin, not only from our personal sin by calling us to repent and believe the good news, but also from the"sins of the world," or from the sinners in the world.

The really big thing about Christmas and the birth of Jesus Christ (and even non-Christians can welcome this), is that Christ brought a message of equality for all, and established the dignity and rights of women and children. Amazingly, the poor learned that the individual was not a slave of the state but has profound inalienable rights as a human being, a child of God.

So if ever you are made feel inferior by others, empower yourself with the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth and know that all humans are equal before God which should be the basis of justice and equality before the law of land.Jesus was born as an impoverished child and stories spread that there was a rival born that would establish a new kingdom in Palestine. King Herod the Great, a bloodthirsty tyrant, ordered all boys two years and younger to be killed. What a slaughter on the word of one cruel, power-crazed man determined to prolong his family dynasty. Jesus and his parents were refugees, asylum seekers in Egypt.

Unfortunately today, we still have killers like this doing away with outspoken people pursuing the truth and social justice, even priests and pastors. The sins of the world are very much with us. We have, in different degrees, failed to accept and follow Jesus and live up to His teachings to love and respect one another, share the wealth and live in peace.

We must continue to try to make Jesus better known and admired and his teachings more accepted. We can only do this by practicing, as Jesus said, “By your love for one another they will know you are my disciples."His message is just as dangerous now as it was for His disciples. After His birth, He spread the news that all are equal in the eyes of the creator and have equal rights, dignity and a place in God's Kingdom of love and justice.

It was an electrifying message and subversive to the theological and political rulers whose position had never been challenged. But poor people were lifted up and empowered by Jesus. “You can believe in me,” Jesus said, “God wants all to be respected and to love each other and share the blessings of the earth fairly and equally”. That's the message of Christmas.

Contact Fr. Shay Cullen at the Preda Center, Upper Kalaklan, Olongapo City, Philippines. e-mail: preda@info.com.ph; Visit www.preda.org for more related articles.