Every year, believers in Jesus Christ celebrate his Christmas, that is, his nativity, his birth, two thousand years ago. And although it is a strictly Christian holiday, this season of celebrations has become a universal event. Christmas is celebrated in every corner of the earth, because – more or less consciously and known – all humanity recognizes the greatness and significance of Jesus of Nazareth, who divided the story into two parts: in years before his birth and in years after his birth, and who, above all, left us the legacy of his life project as a model and path to reach the truth, humanize ourselves and be happy.
Truth consists of knowing ourselves to be children of God and brothers of all. It is a path that challenges us and pushes us to build coexistence, societies, and a better world, that is more just, supportive, and more fraternal.
We all celebrate this time with lights, decorations, new releases, trips, meetings, parties, messages, gifts, dinners, Christmas trees, etc. But the commercialization and frenzy of Christmas prevent us from encountering the essential message of what we celebrate. We risk celebrating without knowing what we are celebrating, or emptying Christmas of content.
Christmas is a celebration and time of year that has a universal meaning because the message that this commemoration gives us is also universal. That is, it is valid for every man and woman who comes into this world, especially when confronted with the daily experiences of evil and dehumanization that we live and that affect and challenge us all.
The life project of Jesus and his message is not the property of a religion, nor of a sect, nor is it an ideology or body of doctrine to be kept on shelves. The message of Jesus Christ, whose birth we celebrate, touches every human being and all human beings, insofar as the actions and words of Jesus of Nazareth reveal to us the most intrinsic, essential, noble and true values and ideals to which every human being tends and aspires: the value of life, of peace, of humility, of silence, of joy, of generous dedication, are universal values, the property of no one and the heritage of all men and women of good will, of all humanity.
The first message of what we Christians call the “incarnation” is that God wants to be with man and loves everything human: “They will call him Emmanuel, which means: God-with-us” (Ex 7:14; Mt 1:22). The God revealed in Jesus Christ cares about everything human, everything deeply human. Thus, the best human causes and those in favor of man are causes of God. Through his life, Jesus reveals to us the human aspect of God and the divine aspect of man, of every man. So, the struggles for humanization, for the fulfillment and dignification of the human being are struggles willed by God and in accordance with his will and new command: “That we love one another…” (Jn 13:34)
Christmas also reminds us that Christians and all human beings can follow Jesus, imitate him, because he is one of us and like us, “like us in all things but sin” (Heb 4:15; Phil 2:6-11). And in the search for truth and happiness that we all experience, in Him, we find the model of man that God has and wants for every man. Therefore, we are blessed who – in Jesus of Nazareth – see what many wanted to see and did not see, hear what we heard and could not. (Lk 10:24ff.) And, for this very reason, Jesus is confessed by Christians as “the way, the truth, and the life” (Jn 14:6).
But, furthermore, Jesus and his Christmas teach us that God’s ways are not our ways, and that his thoughts are not ours. That the logic of the world goes against the logic of God revealed in the Good News (gospel) which is the life of Jesus of Nazareth. And that we can be better human beings and build a better world, to the extent that we learn to think and act like God. (Cf. Mk 8:27ff; Rom 12:2ff)
Therefore, while we were waiting for palaces and thrones, the one we confess as the Messiah, Lord of history, Son of God and celebrated at Christmas is going by way of mangers and crosses. And while we are building lives in lies and corruption, He asks us for authority that is truth and coherence. While we arm ourselves against each other, the Gospel of Jesus asks us to love and forgive one another. While we are climbing up and looking for wide doors, Jesus asks us to enter through the narrow door, denying ourselves, to serve the gift of life to all, in universal brotherhood.
Therefore, being a believer in Christ does not consist in wearing a certain outfit, nor in memorizing a compendium of concepts or in being spectators or dealers of certain rites, but in assuming his logic, the logic of God (1 Cor 1,18-29; Jon 8,23; Jn 15,19) to live and act accordingly.
With the birth of Jesus, we also remember that there can be no sadness when life is born. And, with the life of Jesus, we rejoice because the value of the fragility and innocence of a child lying in the manger, of humility, of silence, of service, of forgiveness for peace, of the fulfillment of promises, of light, of hope and, very especially, of the love of God as a good Father for his creatures for the construction of fraternal relationships, are born, and we discover in Him.
All this, against a world that is armed for violence and death, against a “light” culture in which the shell matters more than the content, in which ostentation and arrogance prevail, noise and pleasure at all costs, calculation and selfishness, petty interests and the commercialization of people and things.
The Good News of Jesus asks us to build relationships that are not unjust, competitive, inequitable or violent. To build policies and societies where the person prevails over things, where ethics prevail over aesthetics and being over profit. Coexistence and societies where service prevails over the power that tramples and crushes, and labor relations where the dignity of the worker is more important than the production of wealth.
Celebrating the birth of Jesus is celebrating the birth of the one who challenges us every day to build love instead of hatred and division; forgiveness, fraternity, solidarity and tolerance against selfishness, classism and discrimination; life instead of death; truth instead of corruption; freedom instead of so many current forms of exploitation and slavery; etc.
Ultimately, Christmas is everyone’s holiday, because – in Jesus Christ – we discover the human in God and the divine that we all aspire to, that we all have to achieve, that we all have to build every day, so that it will always be Christmas.
