SVG Christian Council 2016 Christmas message

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9.6.

Each year, this nation joins with billions from various parts of the globe and of various languages, heritage, culture and even religions to celebrate the Birth of Jesus Christ. This is phenomenal; the story of the birth of a little child in a less than significant town, in a lowly place is one which has continued to inspire people towards sharing, caring, loving, peace and goodwill.{{more}} While some spend time debating the historical origins of the season or the authenticity of the date, others look a little deeper and see that this is one moment each year when myriads and myriads more pause and utter on their lips words of life and hope, sing carols and recount the story, “our story” – While shepherds watched their flocks by night…, Away in a manger no crib for a bed, the little Lord Jesus lay down his sweet head… Hark the herald angels sing, glory to the new born king.

Amid the celebrations there is opportunity: opportunity for us to reflect, evaluate and change. As we recount the narrative it is critical that we never lose sight of the fact that this celebration called Christmas is one for him whom we know as saviour. This therefore challenges us to evaluate the nature of our celebrations and be to more and more mindful that the message is not missed, the purpose not escaped and the opportunities lost. What good is there in celebrating a saviour if people are not being saved? We must recognize and confront all efforts to dilute or distract from this critical message.

We therefore must be impassioned in our concern for the commercialization of the season. It has become and is becoming even more so a season which accentuates a prominence of materialism. Our experiences of sharing along with the feeling of refreshing and newness the story of this little child inspires is now an occasion for excessive spending and wasteful accumulation of more.

This opportunity for reflection, evaluation and change should also challenge us to ‘compare and contrast’ the birth of Jesus (the Prince of Peace and the messenger of salvation) with the increased incidence of crime and violence and the saddening loss of regard for the sanctity of life. Reports are that many of the murders are related to ‘drugs’ and this, to most people, is no surprise. Our challenge then is to consider what is the good news, the hope, redemption this Christmas narrative must bring to many including our young men who have been convinced that being a “bad man”, having a “high” and gaining easy money is true manhood or a viable life option. Must we not reflect on how we can deconstruct and reconstruct the image and purpose of manhood based on the story of this little child who grew to become the most influential man in history and who himself was never hungry for wealth, proudly saying he had no way to lay His head?

This time of reflection should challenge us to seriously consider justice issues and be more committed to foster a nation where justice rolls down like water and righteousness and ever flowing steam [Amos 5.24]. This little child from birth to death had to negotiate and navigate the various situations of injustice and abuse of power. Should we not ask questions about employers who exploit employees, of stores who demand excessively long hours, little breaks and taskmaster-type working environment. Should we not ask questions about those whose view of justice (what is just/right and wrong) is informed by which side of the political divide you are on.

This time of reflection, evaluation and change should make us even more aware of the cross-cultural challenges that our nation faces. As residents return and have themselves been living in contexts where the mores and values are substantially different from our Christian worldview, as tourists land on our shores coming with different values and socio-cultural practices we must ask – who are we? What does it mean to be Vincentian and for this to be the ‘home of the blessed’? Do we modernize our values, reshape our culture, ‘get with it”? Do we get more entrenched in the fashion (or lack thereof), in the music and current pop trends? Do we continue to embrace ‘their’ psychologies and philosophies which, in some instances, empower the child to be the adult and reduce the adult to the coaxing and pleading of a child? Perhaps this little boy child whose story reflects a clear sense of who he was under God should challenge us afresh not to readily lose our accents and values, but to appreciate that this little “Bethlehem”, our “Nazareth from whence nothing good can come” can in fact be a beacon in our world, a prophetic voice not of mere traditionalism and nostalgia but to proclaim the message as did Jeremiah – “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.” [Jeremiah 6.16]

This Christmas season let us use the opportunity to reflect on and rethink who we are and what choices we must make as we celebrate the Christ who came into this world for salvation and him who will come again as king and judge. May we remember his earthly journey occurred in the midst of injustice, cultural dissonance, materialism, and misguidedness, yet his message changed lives and ignited hope, giving us, centuries later, the confidence in knowing that things can get better, SVG can get better; our nation can be an example of righteousness, a beacon of hope and truly the land of the Blessed… in Jesus Name.

God’s richest blessings to you, SVG, as we forge ahead IN CHRIST to “build a new St Vincent”.