As Christians, it’s alright we remember the great divine birthday of the baby Jesus born every year. it’s okay having performed a play each year, a forerunner announcing the census to every villages, a boy Joseph and a little girl Mary riding on a donkey to Bethlehem, an inn-keeper sending them to cattle’s’ shed, and she setting up the place for labour-pain and finally, holding a doll in arm as if she has borne the baby! Nothing wrong that children acting again as if they’re the shepherds in the sheep’s’ pasture and waiting for the angels to appear with message of Jesus’ birth. It’s okay to hear the angels singing in the sky, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests” (Luke 2:14).
Yes, it’s absolutely okay as we see the baby Jesus wrapped in warm clothes and lying in the poor manger. Celebrate the miracle of Almighty God, the ultimate creator of whole universe, and the redeemer-saviors and sustainer of all mankind’s has been born in our own image! Let the entire earth rejoice that the Emmanuel Lord God has been born and being with us!
What else we expect of the more?
One of a senior Christian leaders, my mentor in Christian literary works, and the pioneer former executive to Nepal Bible Society, Mr. Loknath Manaen upon hearing me being heavily engaged in “Christmas Celebrations”, once made a comment, “What you gain personally by this much of celebration?” Simply, it seems like he is tiered of the amusement, parties and brightening decorations. I can reason why he wishes to withdraw from the Christmas activities having realized that the real absence of Christ amongst, in the hearts of those celebrants. Perhaps, his frustration over the Christmas reveals something irreducible minimum which is the “bringing down the incarnation of “Emmanuel” in our lives and the rest around us. Because we might not mean why should we celebrate the festivities. Does this sound true? In most cases, as we are engaged in this busy schedule, the answer is “yes!” Perhaps, we are too much loaded with all activities and forgotten the most precious message of it. Doubtlessly, the Christmas’ central message is “what a gift given by heaven to earth and all creation!”
What gifts I shall receive?
It wouldn’t be exaggeration to claim that the Christmas is all about exchanging the gifts. Small or big, we all wait for a gift. Mythically, the Santa comes on a chariot and distributes gifts to our children. And traditionally, it is believed that gift-giving notion of the Christmas is taken into practice who celebrate it. There are many stories over the Christmas giving, people compete for the best one that no others’ should be the better. Gifting to beloved ones is usual, if this is done with genuineness, obviously that reveals how much the giver loves the receipts. Such season of telling “I love you!” chanted over the Christmas each year. Again, nothing wrong with this practice. No doubt, many relationship are renewed and restored by the small gesture of giving which ascertains the true love, a genuine affection and care. The stories which demonstrates a sacrificial giving during the season is what retold repeatedly.
What gifts shall I give?
Jesus once rebuked the gift-givers – What gain you will have if you offer a gift to someone expecting the same from him or her in return. He said, “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full.” (Luke 6:32-34). Please, do not take it otherwise, Jesus never meant that we shouldn’t give something someone who is in our relationship. Indeed, giving testifies the love. If so you and must love with a gift whatever it is. Offering a gift will gain the same love and respect in return. Therefore, Jedus didn’t mean that we mustn’t expect similar or greater measure of love and respect from the receivers whom we give or lend. He fairly meant that your giving shouldn’t be limited in an exchange or gain-making business in which the intention is of exploitation, bribery and cruelty over the poor.
Despite of what we practice in the giving season, the focus shouldn’t be what the giver gains, but the sacrificial gift we render to someone must be the higher expression of love. Let us take God’s giving as an example, “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life” (John 3:16, MSG). The agape love of God is revealed through this sacrificial giving of His begotten Son, the Redeemer Christ to die instead of the death the world deserves. What a divine giving relates us to our Lord’s birthday!
What sacrifices I could make?
It was a chilling winter of 1994, when I was serving as an editor to a national daily newspaper. One of our reporters sent a note that 14 people died of cold within a night in Mahottari district. That news didn’t allow me a good sleep, so I decided a brief field visit. I bought a bus ticket and reached in following evening. The story was true! But in my observation, they didn’t die of the cold wave, but the death stroke them with lackings! They were just materially poor! They had no proper shed, no warm clothes and no enough food to feed themselves, and more than the lacking, they died of the cold gesture of the people around! If the rich and middle class families in the surrounding villages would have shared few extra clothes, the death toll certainly lessened. I concluded that the poor die when there is no one to share with them.
We are at Work!
Formally, since 1996, our small church in Kathmandu, started a ministry of benevolence, we raise money, and collect even used clothes and in times of need, we are reaching people having nothing survive and materially in destitute situation, we serve the as to sacrifices of ourselves. geographically, we are in the disaster-prone Region, but poverty makes it worst and devastating even by the smaller calamities. Thus, our fight is tremendously great, even sometimes addressing the disaster seems an endless striving. Yet, you and I should not be weary of an act of mercy, which ultimately the love turns to be real and all the gifting gestures become meaning and transforming experience to someone’s life.
BP Khanal, PhD
Kathmandu, Nepal
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