Dear Editor
FOR God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him will not perish, but have everlasting life. For many persons, Christmas has much significance, meanings and representations. But the only and true meaning of Christmas can be derived from that passage from the Holy Scripture. God ‘pitching’ His tent in our world, as it were, in the person of His Son Jesus Christ, to save mankind from their sins and shortcomings. In the end, he paid the ultimate sacrifice of death on a cross, to save the human race. This is the true message of hope for Christmas.
This hope, my friends, should be an inspiration to your lives—families and friends, as you remember the hidden meaning of Christmas, amid the hustle and bustle of shopping, eating, lavishness and drinking throughout this holiday. If God were to send His Son into our world today, it would be a world that pains and hurts from suffering, injustice, disease, poverty, crime, sexual immoralities, social problems and selfishness in its many forms.
Our own country, here, Guyana, bleeds from a myriad of issues and problems among our people, politicians even religious leaders. Many seem to be in competition for the fame of giving to the poor and needy, relishing the spectacle to make themselves and their group or organisation look good in the eyes of the camera and the general public. While others, especially businesses, exploit consumers for personal and other gains ,propelling the get-rich- quick mentality among us, creating a divided an unequal society where the rich gets richer and the poor gets poorer.
If God had waited to send His Son into the world today, He would have been welcomed by wars in the Middle East, where almost every day there is bloodshed with innocent lives being ended by bombs; where children, even babies caught up in the war against the Western nations, as the radicalisation of one major world religion gets more profound. What would the Christ Child say if he were to have been born in a world of today, in a Guyana of today? Would we have valued His message of hope, peace, justice and love? For many, it is only lip service paid to those truths and values. We sectionalise our religious habits and beliefs and confine them to a building. The rest of our lives we live out as we please, there is little or no impact of religion, which for many is just a cloak, a mask.
My dear friends, Christmas for me as a child was the most memorable gift of a lifetime. How can I forget discovering to my amazement, gifts in my pillow cases in our house (placed there by mom and dad of course) on Christmas morning; the cooking and baking, the cleaning and illuminated verandah with lights and decorated with our tree. Christmas years ago was the best and most joyous—very traditional and down to earth– and less commercialised than it has become today.
In the midst of the noise of commercialisation and the distractions of this most holy day of the year, let us find ourselves in the quietude of our hearts and homes, surrounded by those we love and who love us, to share that which the Babe of Bethlehem brought to this world—LOVE and PEACE. Let us too not be confined to our walls this holiday, for let us take joy to others who find it hard to realise that LOVE, and PEACE, others who are too poor or sick to truly experience the real joy of Christmas. Let us visit our less fortunate brothers and sisters and take the love of Christmas to them. But let us be careful, for many have chosen to become poor and vulnerable in this day and age, for purposes of sheer exploitation of the kindness of others.
Let others see in you, that outward expression of the understanding of this Christmas season. Share love, a smile, or even a meal with loved ones and friends. Our world will hurt and pain less, if each and every one of us starts to do this. The religious elements of Christmas are important, such as going to church and concerts and parties even. Cleaning, preparing and decorating our homes even are also important. But what about the inward preparation of our lives and hearts? Have we prepared our inner souls to receive Jesus in the world this Christmas? How does that message inspire us to be better human beings to our families, friends and neighbours? Would some of us continue to be the Grinch and bitter persons around the people we interact with on a daily basis?
Surely, we cannot continue along this path. I’ve visited Georgetown this past week and like many other town centres, it was transformed into a hubbub of economic activities—persons seeking after the best deals and prices and promotions, trying to get out from the business community as much as possible for this holiday. We all want our personal gains. It makes us feel good. What about trying to get the best deals in spreading peace and love across our land? When Christmas has come and gone, the void many of us tried to fill with shopping and eating and drinking will still be there.
Dear friends, as you celebrate Christmas this 2016, vouch to be the change-maker within your family and community, ultimately your country. Use the simple but profound message of Christmas to stir the zeal and inspiration into your hearts to see life from a different perspective—to see what’s more important and do what is more important. Guyana needs the message of Christmas. Guyanese need to live and breathe the message the Christ Child brings to this fractured world today. Let your lives be transformed inwardly and outwardly, not only for this season, but for all through the year.
Due to circumstances this year, I am spending Christmas in Guyana, and my mom is here to spend it with me. My sister will be spending Christmas by herself in New York. Our little family, though torn apart by the reality of life, I am sure is nevertheless knitted as closest as it has ever and will ever be, this Christmas and for many more Christmases. For it is not the physical presence of those around us that makes Christmas more special, but the love that can travel thousands of miles, the care that can cross many oceans and joy that can be felt across many continents—that is what Christmas is about.
Have a blessed and joyous Christmas.
Regards
Leon J. Suseran