In the Judeo-Christian world, December is a big month. Other beliefs also celebrate this season. It is a time of new beginnings, longer days, a new year and perhaps a time for change, with New Year’s resolutions. Change in many areas of current events would be welcome.
The news reveals members of a radical “anti-capitalist, anti-government” group are now in custody for planning bombings in California at the New Year’s Eve celebration. The Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, was spoiled with a mass shooting that left 15 people dead and dozens wounded. The father-son perpetrators were said to be motivated by Islamic State beliefs. Power seems to be the quest of the world and killing is thought to be the ultimate expression of power. While Christmas has a powerful message, power is not that message. It is about a young woman, blessed by God to have a virgin birth of a baby who would become the future Messiah.
If you are a celebrant of Christmastide, also known as the 12 Days of Christmas (December 25-January 6), it is a time of commemorating the birth of Jesus and the significance of his arrival as the Son of God. The Old or Early Testament of the Bible tells of the need for the coming of the Messiah to save the people of faith, in Israel. Micah 5:2, written around 710 B.C., tells of Bethlehem being the birthplace of the ruler over Israel. Isaiah 7:14 (742 B.C.) foretells of the virgin birth of one called Emanuel — God with us. Isaiah 53 tells of his suffering and death and his intercession for our transgressions.
The Old Testament Messiah is described as a conqueror of evil and savior of Israel. The New Testament gives quite another description of the Messiah’s entry as a newborn child. As that child grew, his message was not one of conquering power and judgment, but of forgiveness.
When Jesus was tempted by the devil, he was offered the kingdoms of the world, but he refused. He talked of turning the other cheek and giving your cloak and coat. His way was and is not the way of the world. The scriptures are God’s wisdom, which is often considered man’s foolishness. His ways are not our ways. In the Old Testament, he is a lion; in the New Testament, he is a lamb, to be led to the slaughter, hung on a cross, till dead and buried.
But he rose from the dead and ascended to the Father. His earthly teachings to his disciples were and are to follow him, living a life of sacrifice and service, in his stead. Some of us had rather not suffer or serve. We prefer comfort and power. Jesus’ teachings are a beautiful story embracing children, the poor, the victims and the meek.
Education and power seem to be the way of the world and the cure for evil. Politicians pass laws, make peace treaties and try to solve problems but poverty, ignorance and wars continue. Advances in science result in cures for many of the world’s ailments. Artificial intelligence may deliver what man cannot apprehend on our own. Blaise Pascal, the Renaissance mathematician who invented the first calculator, also contemplated the mystery of God and wrote: “It is in vain, O men, that you seek within yourselves the cure for all your miseries. All your insight only leads you to the knowledge that it is not in yourselves that you will discover the true and the good.”
Christmas comes and goes each year, as does the opportunity for renewal and change. Wars and evil acts will continue and religions will be mocked. The world needs the Messiah. Christians and Jews are taught to pray for messianic intervention that there may be peace on earth. Until then, the good will toward men will depend on how we interpret and live the teachings of the Christmas child. The real message of Christmas is love, which is the ultimate power that overcomes.
Tom Wright is a Santa Fe columnist and an El Rito investor