By Fabian Lyngdoh
The Roman were continually engaged in wars that the door of the temple of Janus, the war god, remained constantly open. That awful door was closed only for the third time during the reign of Emperor Augustus since the foundation of Rome. A certain historian wrote, “whilst the people complimented the emperor on his wisdom and skill in silencing all wars abroad, and disputes at home, they little knew by Whose Hand it was, or for what cause, these wars and tumults were hushed into one silent awful lull…In the empire of Augustus, in the reign of Herod, King of Judea, a Child was born in the royal village of Bethlehem of Judea, and that Child was the Prince of Peace.”
I am neither a pastor nor a priest, but having observed how Christmas is being celebrated year after year as a religious solemnity as well as a social festival for merry making, I gathered enough courage and impulse to venture into a field I have not been formally trained, to present a different idea of the Christmas message for the year ahead. The Gospel says that on the night Jesus was born, the angels sang, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favour rests” (Luke, 2: 14). Every year, on the 25th day of December we celebrate the birth of Jesus with the message of love and peace to one another, but the door of the temple of Janus seems to be opening wider and wider as the years go by. This is happening because, though true believers in Jesus Christ, from whatever denomination, celebrate love and peace by surrendering the glory to God, but the majority of institutional believers of all denominations seem to have missed out the message of the angels’ song which clearly proclaimed that peace shall reign among humans if they surrender the glory to God.
Glory belongs to God alone and peace shall be on earth to men who surrender the glory to God. But we as human beings are not really caring about peace, but madly running after glory. We are not concerned about the glory of God, but about our own personal glory or the glory of the church as an institution, and not the church as a spiritual body of true believers in Christ. Either individually or as a group, we have a conception that peace would be possible only when we achieve our glory by conquering and subduing others, and then rule over them according to our own will as they bow down under our feet. This tendency is manifested not only in the rivalries among nations, but also among religions, and even among different denominations of the same religion.
Religious rivalries among human beings arose since time immemorial, and continues even today not because God has confused us by giving different revelations to different prophets, but because the followers of any faith started enclosing the content of God’s revelation within the narrow walls of a human institution. It is a natural human tendency to institutionalise anything that is perceived as serving some aspect of human needs, for uniformity of practice, regularity of observance, and unity of control. God revealed the same messages to all prophets of all ages but it was the institutionalised messages that made the difference and created the deadly rivalries. Apostle Paul in order to heal the rift caused by spiritual pride among believers wrote to the Corinthians, “The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets. For God is not a God of disorder but of peace” (2 Cor. 14: 32-33).
Man thinks that he should institutionalise an idea, a practice or a revelation so that it would serve him best, but when an institution emerged and acquired an identity of its own as a formidable Leviathan, then do or die, his life is imposed with a responsibility to serve and maintain it whether it is true or false. So instead of an institution serving his need for peace, man ended up serving the institution for its own glory’s sake. This is the primary cause of all religious rivalries and wars. It was not the requirement of a divine decree, but it was the need to maintain the glory of an institutionalised faith for the sake of strengthening human control that led to the idea of eliminating the infidels and unbelievers by the sword, or the silencing of heretics by fire.
The world needs peace, and humanity as a whole should pray for God’s intervention by surrendering all the glory that belongs to Him alone. This would be fulfilled not by intensifying institutionalised worships which would instead widen the gaps of divisions among humans further, but by a universal prayer in the form of a genuine and desperate human cry for peace. The believers in Christ are called upon to live in happiness individually deep in the heart, and to live in peace with one another. Christian churches of various denominations have a responsibility to translate and fulfil the message and the mission of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, in the grassroots communities. Institutional worship necessary for maintaining the internal order of the church is one thing, and fulfilling the mission of Christ in the grassroots society is another thing which is more important than institutional worship. But what we normally observe is that church leaders are mostly interested only with institutional programmes for worships as well as for festivals set to be conducted throughout the year until the next Christmas, and leave the grassroots societies to their own fate. In any village or local community there are endless religious celebrations in the churches with the sweet sounds of the bells, the colourful decorations and the abundance of food, while at the same time in the private life of the individuals and the community there is rampant poverty, superstitions, hatred, cheating, enmity and crimes. We fondly believe that we have fulfilled our mission of peace when all our institutional programmes have been conducted or performed in spite of the fact that superstitions and all evils still rule supreme in the grassroots society. Christ called his disciples to tend the sheep not only when they are gathered and crowded together in the pen, but mainly to tend to them while they stray in the fields to graze.
Let the celebration of Christmas this year, be a sober and thoughtful resolution for each one of us to be instruments of peace in whatever capacity we are placed in this wide web of social relationships. Apostle Paul urged the early Christians, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace” (Colossians, 3: 15). God has called us to live in peace (1 Cor. 7: 15), and not to eliminate one another in whatever form. May the true believers of Christ translate the message of peace not only within the theological and liturgical walls of an institution but right there in the grassroots where the sheep are grazing to fulfil their socio-economic human needs, where they compete and kick each other for scarce resources, and huddle together for mutual warmth. In spite of all odds, may Christ mission of peace triumph for he had assured, “Peace I leave with you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John, 14:27). Humanity is created to live in peace and to enjoy peace through the happiness of each and every human individual however humble and lowly a person might be for we are all equal before God. Apostle Peter wrote to guide and confirm the faithful, “Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called…turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it (1 Peter, 3: 8-11). I end this little Christmas message with Jesus’ words, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John, 16: 33).