By Barnes Mawrie
The juxtaposition of the two words in the title must sound awkward and preposterous at first sight. However, this article is meant to show the contrast and not the similarity of the two terms. In a time when we see so much of violence around us it is relevant to speak of the core message of Christmas vis-à-vis terrorism. Christmas is the greatest good news ever sounded on earth. It is the incarnation of the Son of God among men. As the evangelist John says “God so loved the world that he sent his only Son into the world so that those who believe in him might have eternal life” (Jn 3:16). In the words of Rabindranath Tagore “every child that comes into the world tells us that God is not discouraged with man”. The birth of Jesus Christ is therefore the most articulate message of God that He still loves mankind. Christmas is the message of love and peace.
The prophecies that went before the birth of Christ clearly spoke of an era of peace for the people of God. Isaiah one of the great prophets of the Old Testament writes about 700 years before Christ: “And He will judge between the nations, and will render decisions for many peoples; And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation” (Is 2:4). Another Old Testament prophet by the name Hosea prophesied “In that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, the birds in the sky and the creatures that move along the ground. Bow and sword and battle I will abolish from the land, so that all may lie down in safety” (Hos 2:18). The advent of the Messiah is clearly depicted as the dawn of a new age, an era of peace and harmony. This concept of a peaceful existence is for the entire creation and not only of man. Thus the messianic prophecy says “The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them” (Is 11:6).
If one considers the transformations that have taken place since the beginning of Christianity more than 2000 years ago, one cannot deny the fact that the messianic era has been unfolded to a great extent. Europe prior to the advent of Christianity was plagued with ignorance, superstitions, magic, sorcery, incest, infanticide and violence. Wars and bickering were rampant between different tribes and nations. Christianity brought the light of civilization to the continent. By accepting Christianity as their religion, western civilization was once and for all brought together. However, this process took a long time since human greed and ambition always had the upper hand. Thus even after accepting Christianity we still saw a lot of wars and conflicts culminating in the last two World Wars which saw a horrendous human holocaust. All these took place because of an outright violation of the Gospel teaching enunciated by Christ who says “Love your neighbour as yourself, do good to those who persecute you”.
However, the impact of Christianity has been slow but certain for today we see many positive signs of it in western civilization like respect for life, human dignity, international solidarity and a peaceful co-existence. Coming closer home, Christianity has saved the tribal communities from their superstitions, ethnic conflicts and brought them closer together. Perhaps the greatest manifestation of ethnic brotherhood brought by Christianity is during the Annual Eucharistic Procession in Shillong where we see various ethnic groups praying and worshipping God as one community. So let me reiterate that the core message of Christmas is love and peace among all. We are living today in a society torn apart by violence and terrorism. The horrific massacre perpetrated by the ISI in Iraq and Syria, the massacre of innocent children in Pakistan by the Taliban, the killing of innocent people in militant-infested areas of Northeast India like in Manipur, Garo Hills and other places, are contradictory to the message of Christmas. I wonder how the militant Christians celebrate Christmas in their camps. Their celebration would be a mockery of Christmas. When Christ came into this world, he came as a little harmless child guarded only by Joseph and Mary and a few animals. He came as the King of peace and the message of the angels on that night was “peace on earth to people of good will” (Lk 2:14). Whoever practices the Gospel of peace taught by Christ becomes a prophet of peace and justice. We have great examples of such people like our Father of the nation Gandhiji, Martin Luther King Jr, Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, John Paul II and many others. They are the people who have made this world a better place to live in.
Every Christmas is therefore a reminder for all “people of good will” irrespective of religious creed, to live by the gospel of peace and love. Such a gospel is not alien to any religion and in fact every religion upholds it. So just as Christmas is being respected and celebrated by people all over the world Christians and non-Christians, let its message be lived and propagated so that we may soon realize the “great messianic era” when the entire creation would live in perfect peace and harmony.