Christmas and the call to reconciliation

By Fr. Leopold Ratnasekera OMI

(December 25, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) We are celebrating the Christian festival of Christmas at a time when the entire country is in dire need of a true peace and national reconciliation. In fact, Christmas is about the greatest drama of reconciliation between God and humanity, for God has become a human being in this historical birth of Jesus of Nazareth. The Christians revere him as Son of God, the Redeemer of mankind and as the one who reconciled all peoples into a common brotherhood. He brought with his coming the blessings of human liberation from every shackle of slavery and oppression that dehumanized society and robbed us of our eminent dignity.

In the nativity scene in Bethlehem, the royal city of King David, we see a marvellous scene of unity and reconciliation. Jesus, though he is divine has chosen to be born of a poor, humble carpenter’s family. He does not live in a palace bathed in pomp and glory, but grows into manhood in the humble rural abode of Nazareth. He learns the trade of a carpenter and helps his parents to keep the home-fires burning. It is only at the age of thirty, the robust young man he was, that he takes to a solitary life as a spiritual guru and becomes the leader of a group of disciples. He associates with fishermen who were a hard-working lot and embraces sinners, lepers and tax-collectors into his close company. He decries and condemns in no uncertain terms the hypocrisy of those who parade their piety, dictate terms to the people and are guilty of fraud and social injustices. If reconciliation is to be brought about, these anti-social elements have to be purged and the civil population be assured of justice, fair-play and good governance. No wonder, Jesus castigated even Herod as a cunning fox and made Pilate himself feel embarrassed whilst challenging him to face the Truth. The early Christian preaching was replete with the message of reconciliation where all discrimination based on ethnicity, language, social status and even gender were declared as unacceptable in the new world brought into being with the teachings of Jesus Christ. This message was powerfully addressed to all important cosmopolitan centres of that time including imperial Rome where Caesar lived and ruled. We will not attain the highest ideals of Christian culture and civilization unless these areas of discrimination are wiped out of today’s society, however secular it may be.

Being reconciled means that differences are shed, injustices of which people are guilty are mutually rectified, ill-will healed and good-will brought in, mistakes mutually confessed and forgiven, a commitment to higher ideals made and a firm adherence to solidarity declared. The legal, social, cultural and even political dimensions that will be involved in this reconciliation processes will then usher in the transformation of persons and structures that would be newly needed to build this new society and network of relationships. In short, people have to be brought together in peace and unity from which harmony will issue forth. Christmas is a time when the whole world is aglow with exultant joy and jubilation. It even spills over into the business and commercial world. It is the culture of Christmas time for people to think of friends, family connections, amicable unions and look for the best gifts to be bestowed as Christmas gestures. There is something of social and spiritual value in these customs and it is to be appreciated. For, Christmas is a time to renew and strengthen relationships, build new ones and enlarge one’s space for many others to come in. It is creating wider space for peace and unity.

Conflicts being of different kinds and intensity, the work of initiating processes of reconciliation has proved to be no easy task. There have been and still are instances where diplomacy alone has not succeeded in reconciling parties in conflict, since they are not merely of an economic or political kind but conflicts that involved identity, especially ethnic and cultural. In these areas, it is the religions, their value systems and leadership that can intervene with success. It is a good finding to discover that reconciliation has been a very recent but decisive phenomenon in peace research as some studies have shown. In recent times, religions have begun to play very important roles in conflict resolution and reconciliation work, both on local and international levels. There are specific world movements of religions for peace-building such as the World Conference of Religions for peace which is the largest inter-religious organization for peace accredited with the United Nations. In many countries including Sri Lanka, there are religious and inter-religious groups working indigenously to be agents of peace and reconciliation. There have been instances in the modern world such as in Ireland, South Africa and some countries in Latin America where religious leaders have intervened directly to prevent the spread of war and hold conflictual situations at bay. Recourse to religious values that transcend those that are merely of a socio-political nature has proved to be an effective anti-dote in tiding over difficult situations of mistrust and suspicion that has brought in alienation between groups and even countries.

Reconciliation and fostering a spirit of friendship, collaboration and trust are a dire need in our era when world-society tends very much in the opposite direction. The tendency towards conflict and disunity comes naturally to a world where there is competitiveness and hunger for power and domination. Even religion can be abused as a tool and reason for violent conflageration which makes a travesty of religion and brings in a sheer contradiction. For, which religion condemns others as pagans and incites violence against the so-called infidels? Religions must stand together on the same platform as sister-faiths. They can do well in solidarity to stem the tide of secularism that robs humankind of all spiritual sense. It has been proved that religiosity is an anthropological datum and as such it would be inhuman and injurious to people to be deprived of the freedom of religion and worship. Religions as shown clearly in the history of mankind, have given us the wisdom that richly humanizes society. It is materialism that weakens the human spirit and brings it to a soul-less dull state. The noblest of sentiments are enshrined in the sanctums of the religions. The birth of Jesus Christ contains the mystery of the self-emptying of divinity that enriches us and calls us to live as God’s children and as a generation of honorable beings on this earth. He has taught us how to live lives of detachment and self-denial, destroying selfishness and greed of all kinds, in order to serve others and to collaborate with them to build a new world. He taught us the obligation to love God and neighbour and to forgive others without measure in the practice of justice towards all as obedient servants of Truth: truth about ourselves, the external world and our ultimate destiny. We are to rise above dust and ashes and be enlivened in spirit and mind.

Celebrating Christmas, the festival of peace, peace that will come only through reconciliation where justice is meter out to all, this celebration is very much a powerful call to all Sri Lankans who rejoice in the birth of Christ to participate actively in all activities that will help reconcile our differences and rise as a Nation with true Sri Lankan identity and proud to be so in this beautiful island that we call our home. It is a precious pearl in the Indian Ocean that must glitter once again the granary of the East and the oasis of world religions. All eyes are on us, as we try to raise ourselves from the ashes of war and dust of enmity to recapture the pristine glory that was our own for ages past: Sri Lanka, the serendipity of ancient civilization, graceful culture and simple way of life.