Faith Meets Life: Street cred Christmas, God and small beginnings
The origin of Christmas is not difficult to
find. It is the story of the birth of Jesus Christ
2,000 years ago. His birth was told by two
reporters, Matthew and Luke. Their accounts
are preserved in the Christian Bible under
their first names. Actually, they did not have
last or middle names as we have them today.
Matthew, a Jewish one-time tax collector,
that is to say, a semi-criminal of his time,
wrote for a Jewish audience. Luke's writing
was more in tune with the Gentile (non-
Jewish) world.
One of the reasons Luke's version of the birth of Jesus has some street cred is Luke's gentle put down of political power.
Luke noted that just prior to Jesus' birth, the Roman emperor, Caesar Augustus, ordered that a census be taken of the Roman world. The database such a census provided would be used to tax the population and to draft young men into the military. The census was a key instrument of political and economic power. And the census taking provided the political context of Jesus' birth.
The point is that while Caesar was busy managing his political game, and not too poorly many have judged, something much greater was taking place right under his nose in a Jewish animal shed. Like the smallish hobbits who slipped past the imperial machinery of Sauron to carry out the redemption of Middle Earth, a child born in a barn, Jesus Christ, came to destroy evil and bring on God's redemption for our earth.
While Caesar and his colleagues were occupied with the shiny apparatus of politics and economics, the really important action was taking place among the goats and pigs of a grumpy innkeeper. Is there a lesson in this?
As I write, U.S. President Obama is giving a speech at West Point promising a 30,000- troop surge for Afghanistan. Canadians will, no doubt, breathe a sigh of relief that, at last, our soldiers are going to get some real help. Canadian commentators are hoping that Prime Minister Harper will create conditions for more trade with China (though I think that it is far more important for him to stay the course on asking China to improve its human rights record). Economists are saying that the recession is over, implying that our banks, plants and media companies can expect better times ahead.
Among other things, Luke's telling of the birth of Jesus suggests that the really important things in the world might not be taking place in Ottawa, Washington or Beijing. With God there is hope that the small things of the world, the powerless, and the out-ofsight people of our planet can be his instruments to bring good into the world.
Jesus opened up the path to God for everyone, especially for the poor and marginalized of his time. Not a surprise given his own unglamorous birth.
He came to, among other things, present a new approach to life. Ordinary people, not necessarily privileged and comfortable, Fanshawe students who maybe don't have life all together, and Fanshawe staff who maybe don't either, can follow the path Jesus walked. Beginning wherever we are, perhaps in our own small and vulnerable ways, through prayer and a willingness to begin doing good, we can accomplish something of God's good intentions for our world.
Maybe 2010 will see us all pray and do good wherever we are. A small good may not seem like much. But many small goods can add up. And by the grace of God, the total may come to something we did not expect.
Michael Veenema was a Christian chaplain at the college from 1995 to 2004. He continues to write for the ‘Bang.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
One of the reasons Luke's version of the birth of Jesus has some street cred is Luke's gentle put down of political power.
Luke noted that just prior to Jesus' birth, the Roman emperor, Caesar Augustus, ordered that a census be taken of the Roman world. The database such a census provided would be used to tax the population and to draft young men into the military. The census was a key instrument of political and economic power. And the census taking provided the political context of Jesus' birth.
The point is that while Caesar was busy managing his political game, and not too poorly many have judged, something much greater was taking place right under his nose in a Jewish animal shed. Like the smallish hobbits who slipped past the imperial machinery of Sauron to carry out the redemption of Middle Earth, a child born in a barn, Jesus Christ, came to destroy evil and bring on God's redemption for our earth.
While Caesar and his colleagues were occupied with the shiny apparatus of politics and economics, the really important action was taking place among the goats and pigs of a grumpy innkeeper. Is there a lesson in this?
As I write, U.S. President Obama is giving a speech at West Point promising a 30,000- troop surge for Afghanistan. Canadians will, no doubt, breathe a sigh of relief that, at last, our soldiers are going to get some real help. Canadian commentators are hoping that Prime Minister Harper will create conditions for more trade with China (though I think that it is far more important for him to stay the course on asking China to improve its human rights record). Economists are saying that the recession is over, implying that our banks, plants and media companies can expect better times ahead.
Among other things, Luke's telling of the birth of Jesus suggests that the really important things in the world might not be taking place in Ottawa, Washington or Beijing. With God there is hope that the small things of the world, the powerless, and the out-ofsight people of our planet can be his instruments to bring good into the world.
Jesus opened up the path to God for everyone, especially for the poor and marginalized of his time. Not a surprise given his own unglamorous birth.
He came to, among other things, present a new approach to life. Ordinary people, not necessarily privileged and comfortable, Fanshawe students who maybe don't have life all together, and Fanshawe staff who maybe don't either, can follow the path Jesus walked. Beginning wherever we are, perhaps in our own small and vulnerable ways, through prayer and a willingness to begin doing good, we can accomplish something of God's good intentions for our world.
Maybe 2010 will see us all pray and do good wherever we are. A small good may not seem like much. But many small goods can add up. And by the grace of God, the total may come to something we did not expect.
Michael Veenema was a Christian chaplain at the college from 1995 to 2004. He continues to write for the ‘Bang.
Editorial opinions or comments expressed in this online edition of Interrobang newspaper reflect the views of the writer and are not those of the Interrobang or the Fanshawe Student Union. The Interrobang is published weekly by the Fanshawe Student Union at 1001 Fanshawe College Blvd., P.O. Box 7005, London, Ontario, N5Y 5R6 and distributed through the Fanshawe College community. Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters are subject to editing and should be emailed. All letters must be accompanied by contact information. Letters can also be submitted online by clicking here.
