It’s another Christmas, the dies natalis (birthday) of Jesus Christ. At Christmas, we are invited to relive that deepest mystery that took place more than 2000 years ago. As the Psalmist puts it: “A child shall be born for us, and he will be called God, the Almighty; every tribe of the earth shall be blessed by him”. Prophet Malachi unhesitatingly joins in re-echoing the urgency, immediacy, and the eschatological underpinning of his coming. “But who will endure the day of his coming? And who can stand when he appears” (Mal. 3.1-4)? When peaceful silence enveloped the earth, and the night had run half of its swift course, God, who had taken flesh in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, chose to be born in the relatively humble city of David called Bethlehem. St. Josemaria Escriva recaptured it in these words: “When the fullness of time came, no philosophical genius, no Plato or Socrates, appears to fulfill the mission of redemption. Nor does a powerful conqueror, another Alexander, take over the earth. Instead, a child is born in Bethlehem.” Meanwhile, Pope Francis invites us to speak to and listen to the newborn child Jesus. “Let us turn our eyes to Bethlehem and listen to the first faint cries of the Prince of Peace. For truly, Jesus is our peace,” he says.
The events leading up to the birth of Christ are a salutary lesson in humility, self-abnegation, love, and self-sacrificing service. Presidents, Emperors, and Kings of this world are born in special hospitals, but Christ chose to be born in an animal pen. He came to serve, not to be served. Even as a newborn baby, he allowed himself to experience suffering, want, and deprivation. He was laid in a manger, not in a golden bed. Animals were the first to witness his birth. He was the light. He cared for both the spiritually and materially poor. He condemned injustice. He fed the hungry. Seeing the widow of Naim, who lost her only son, He wept. Later, he allowed himself to be crucified on the cross and, by doing so, redeemed mankind and made the cross the pathway to salvation.
Therefore, following the exemplary life of Christ, world leaders should bring light to the dark land, hope to the hopeless, justice to the oppressed, and integrity to the wasteland. This Christmas affords an opportunity for Russian and Ukrainian leaders to humbly return to the roundtable and re-negotiate a peaceful settlement and ceasefire to the war between the two countries. Equally, we call on Israel and Palestine to end the latest war, strife, and hostilities that have engulfed the Middle East and have claimed uncountable precious human lives, especially the lives of innocent children. In particular, let us pray for peace in Bethlehem, located about 10 kilometers (6.2 mi) south of Jerusalem, where Jesus Christ was born more than 2,000 years ago. We continue to pray for peace in war-torn Southern Sudan. We pray for an end to the bloody conflicts and instability in Libya, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Mali, and the Central African Republic (CAR).
Back home in Nigeria, we pray for an end to the Boko Haram insurgency, kidnapping, banditry, abduction, arson, and political hired assassination. We pray for a responsible and incorruptible judiciary in Nigeria. We pray that our political leaders should learn from Christ the lesson of altruistic dedicated service to the people. Nigerian political office holders should be ashamed that, while they live in a spendthrift, pompous exhibition of their ill-gotten wealth, many Nigerians are dying in agony in penury. Many federal highways are in bad shape. Many Nigerians will be celebrating this Christmas in darkness due to electricity supply failure that has paralyzed social and communal life across the country. The worst part is that Nigerians who have money in their bank accounts cannot collect them to purchase Christmas goodies owing to the scarcity of the Naira currency. Many illegally detained prisoners will be celebrating Christmas in various prisons across the country. Many sick people will be celebrating it in their sick beds in hospitals. The security of lives and property is not even guaranteed. By now, kidnappers must be sharpening their hands in readiness for the great kidnapping, which will be unleashed in different parts of the country at Christmas. Of course, in this Christmastime, commercial bus drivers drive recklessly; traders swindle hapless customers; workers embezzle their employer’s money; kidnappers and armed robbers lay siege to the country’s highways to kidnap Christmas travelers and rob them of their belongings.
Therefore, this Christmas calls for a deeper reflection and repentance. In general, we need a new humanism in Nigeria. We must learn to see our neighbors as human beings, not just mere instruments to be used to satisfy our selfish interests. The self-sacrificing service of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph at the first Christmas is a spur to us to be less self-centered and attend to the needs of our fellow men and women.
Christmas underlines the importance of the family in nation-building. Jesus was born into a family of Joseph and Mary. Everything in the Holy family of Jesus, Joseph, and Mary bespeaks the family values of concern, service, dedication, and altruism. The family is the nucleus of society. The family plays a vital role in the upbringing of a person. All the things that shape the life of an adult are what he/she learned from his family or from his parents in childhood. Any wonder the family has been dubbed as “the shaper of values.” The values that the family institution imparts into the child eventually form the superstructure around which the child’s future behavior will revolve. And for us in Africa and Nigeria, the family, viewed from a historical and cultural context, essentially doubles as the provider of those “social safety-nets” that a person needs to grow up to become a responsible member of society.
Finally, Christmastime is a time to regain our laughter and sense of humor. Everything may be collapsing; politics may become synonymous with hypocrisy, but with our laughter, we can challenge the sad world to look at us and be hopeful.
Thanks for your company in clothing the naked public square in 2023.
A joyful Christmas.
