Search for religion, spreading good cheer is Xmass spirit

By Charles Kanjama

For some reason, I love Latin quotes and phrases. Maybe it’s because of my legal training and Catholic upbringing. It might also be because the phonetic sounds of Latin, if uttered with the proper Roman pronunciation, have a certain melodic cadence not dissimilar to Kiswahili.

However, Latin is a dead language, meaning it is not in active vernacular use anywhere in the world, and hence not susceptible to erosion or change.

Christmas brings to mind my favourite quote from the biblical Psalms: "My soul thirsts for God, the living God; when shall I enter and behold his face?" (Ps 42:2) More captivating still is the Latin translation.

There is something profound about the human hankering for the divine: a yearning for a mysterious and transcendent reality. That search for the divine, dramatised by the three wise men who made a long difficult journey to Bethlehem, embodies the Christmas message.

The search for the divine and the encounter with transcendence is at the heart of the Christmas spirit. And indeed summarises the essence and aspiration of all religion.

All religion has a Christmas moment, when God comes among men, or reveals himself to them. All religion aspires to the final Christmas encounter, called eschatological because it is related to the end of time, when man finally goes to meet his creator. In between the first coming of the Messiah at Bethlehem and the second coming at the end of time is the third coming.

The third coming is the personal encounter with the divine that religion offers every person during their lifetime, once, occasionally or frequently. This third coming re-enacts the first coming and anticipates the second coming. It ultimately casts a bright light on our earthly existence by urging us to reach out to others, the way God has reached out to us.

In Charles Dickens’ famous novel, ‘A Christmas Carol’, Ebenezer Scrooge was the miserly old man who was untouched by the Christmas spirit. "External heat and cold had little influence on Scrooge. No warmth could warm, no wintry weather chill him. No wind that blew was bitterer than he, no falling snow was more intent upon its purpose, no pelting rain less open to entreaty. The heaviest rain and snow and hail could boast of advantage over him in one respect. They often came down handsomely, and Scrooge never did."

Yet after receiving three visits in one night from the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future, Scrooge gains a new perspective of the impact he has on the lives of others and is transformed. He learns charity, generosity and spirit of service, so much that others said of him, "that he knew how to keep Christmas well."

Keeping Christmas well does not mean new clothes, extra shopping, good food or even nice exotic holidays. It means something simpler yet more elusive. Something found in that cave at Bethlehem where shepherds gazed and angels sang. It means an event that took place in history, and yet beyond it, two thousand years ago. Ultimately, it is about that innocent suckling Child, who later claimed to be the Man-God.

Keep Christmas well this season, and embody the Christmas spirit. First, by celebrating the role of religion in your life, family and society. Second, by spreading good cheer, above all embracing a spirit of service to others. Third, by keeping the focus on the spiritual dimension of the season, namely the Christmas message. If the Baby Jesus is the reason for the season, then acts of religion are indispensable activities.

The great African theologian St Augustine captured this spiritual inspiration for Christmas when he wrote, "Man’s heart was made for God, and will remain forever restless until it rests in him."

Merry Christmas to you and your family!

The writer is an Advocate of the High Court