Thon Thoeun ,12, sleeps in a concrete pipe that serves as his family’s home near the former Boeung Kak lake in Phnom Penh. Meng Kimlong |
Caesar [propped up local ruler] in his pomp? |
“A second level of local rulers assisted Caesar’s court to oppress their own. In Jesus’ time these were the Herods and the Chief Priests. They had traded their integrity for the crumbs of pomp and power that fell from Caesar’s table. The one thing they dared not do was to disagree with the philosophy of the empire.”
A Christmas Reflection by Bishop Duleep de Chickera
Jesus was born in circumstances of
political and economic oppression. Palestine had been occupied and subdued
under Roman imperialism. Caesar Augustus reigned supreme over a vast empire.
His pomp and power knew no limits; and he was even made out to be a god.
The people
of Palestine experienced hardship and harassment under this regime. They were
taxed heavily to maintain the extravagance of the Emperor’s court and the might
of its military machine. Those who dared to call for freedom and justice were
brutally crushed. Some were thrown to the lions or crucified in public. This
was to instil fear and prevent further uprisings.
“Human resilience, values, passion and perseverance for social justice cannot be confined to any one religious tradition or ideology. It spans all boundaries and includes all cultures at all times.”
A second level of local rulers assisted Caesar’s court to oppress their own. In
Jesus’ time these were the Herods and the Chief Priests. They had traded their
integrity for the crumbs of pomp and power that fell from Caesar’s table. The
one thing they dared not do was to disagree with the philosophy of the empire.
Caesar’s
court and its collaborator-opportunists despised each other but needed each
other. They were compelled to stay together to serve each other’s interests.
Together, they imagined that the Empire would last forever.
“The modest and the wise, unknown to each other but in a common search for truth and life, meet at the stable of hope.”
The gift of hope
The coming
of Christ challenges the pomp and power of the empire and the myth of its
invincibility. In time, the baby, born in a stable, grows up to offer a higher
alternative to the violence and greed of the empire. His life and teaching
stirs the human conscience and opens the way to liberating truth and fullness
of life. This truth and life sets people free from the impulse to violate and
victimise others, and awakens a yearning to include and safeguard the dignity
and freedom of the other, now seen as sister and brother within one human
family.
It is this
new release of perspective and energy rooted in the human conscience which
relentlessly discovers ways of overcoming barriers that deprive and divide
humans. The human instinct to protect and care for each other is much stronger
than the sum of greed of the violent empires of the world.
This then
is the strong message of hope that Christmas brings; the oppression of empires,
whether yesterday or today, do not last forever. When contested with the much
more dynamic forces of truth, love, justice, humility, forgiveness, healing and
reconciliation they are destined to collapse and give way to a higher order.
The prophetic words of the late Martin Luther King that “the arc of history is
bent towards truth and justice” are a precise summary of this reality.
Windows of hope
This
Christmas message opens several windows for us all. It is for us to decide at
which of these six we are to stand.
1. The
stable born baby grows up to love the vulnerable and include the marginalised.
The
liberating freedom that Christ offers cannot be confined to personal or
institutionalised religion. The heart of Christianity is justice for the
vulnerable and the oppressed; everywhere and always.
2. The
peace and goodwill that the birth in the stable ushered, was first announced to
poor and socially excluded shepherds.
Violence
and injustice is never the end of the story. New signs of hope will always
emerge in lowly and unexpected places like the stable and the open fields. When
modest humans take on the responsibility to protect each other through
solidarity, integrity, self-denial and self-scrutiny, ripples of change can
grow into waves, and the tears of the violated will be wiped away.
3. The
wise visitors, who were led to the stable and cooperated to save the saviour,
were from other religious cultures.
Human
resilience, values, passion and perseverance for social justice cannot be
confined to any one religious tradition or ideology. It spans all boundaries
and includes all cultures at all times.
4. The
happenings in the stable did not immediately oust the Caesars and their
accomplices.
In fact it
made them more violent. There will always be those who resort to violence and
injustice for the love of pomp and power. Empires replace empires. This is why
the work of social justice never ends. Those who work for a safe, just and
reconciled world have no rest; they are to be alert always, till the end.
5. The
modest and the wise, unknown to each other but in a common search for truth and
life, meet at the stable of hope.
Many from
different backgrounds, prompted by different reasons and unknown to each other
are in search of truth and life. Even if they think so at times, they are not
alone in this search. Hope is generated when such persons meet in a common
place. In this search, each has much to offer and all are to cooperate in a
spirit of openness and generosity.
6. The
message that grew from the stable is inclusive and universal.
It offers
hope for the perpetrators of injustice as well. Those who build empires always
have another chance to give up their violent and unjust ways and turn to a life
of integrity through repentance and remedy of the damage done. When this
happens victims and violators will be able to share the shade of the same tree.
With Peace
and Blessings to all!
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