Christmas comes but once a year. In celebrating the birth of a great man who changed the world forever, we celebrate life itself. Jesus Christ may have been born in a manger in Bethlehem all those years ago, but he changed the lives of the rich and the poor alike all over the world. He shaped modern history in an unprecedented way – in fact, some say that history is his story.
Christianity came to Sri Lanka much later than other great religions – Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam – did, with the arrival of colonial powers in Sri Lanka from 1505. But since then, it has made a great impact on Sri Lankan society as a whole and co-existed with the above religions. Today, many beautiful churches dot our landscape, with the faithful gathering at prayer times for worship and fellowship.
All Christian celebrations have now become national events in keeping with the country’s multi-ethnic, multi-cultural milieu. This is indeed, why the whole nation was shocked to the core by the senseless Easter Sunday attacks of April 2019, which killed around 270 innocents, mostly churchgoers. Christians of all denominations and indeed all Sri Lankans have still not completely recovered from this horrendous attack.
But in Christmas, Sri Lankans have an ideal opportunity to leave the dark past of conflicts and terrorism behind to carve a new path for the future in these challenging times. Sri Lanka underwent a massive socio-political upheaval during much of this year, culminating in the events of July 9. Following a change of presidency and governance spurred by these events, Sri Lanka has now regained a measure of political and social stability. Gone are the massive queues for everything from fuel to LP Gas and the economy too is recovering, albeit slowly. True, many challenges still remain, but things should be much better by 2024 according to expert opinion.
As the entire nation gets together today sans ethnic and religious barriers to celebrate the life and times of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, it is time to ponder on the importance of unity and reconciliation for our forward march. In fact, President Ranil Wickremesinghe has taken the lead in evolving a solution for the vexed national question in time for the 75th anniversary of Independence on February 4 next year. All Sri Lankans must be determined to contribute to this noble effort that would usher in everlasting peace to this resplendent island. After all, peace is the cornerstone of all the great religions.
Many other problems too can be solved if we get closer to whatever religion that we follow. One of the main reasons for the rising crime wave is that the society has moved away from religion to concentrate purely on making more and more money. This eternal rat race does not allow time for reflection on the teachings of the great masters. Society will indeed be a much better place if we all followed their teachings to the letter.
The temple, church, kovil and mosque in each area must interact more closely with their congregations to address some social issues that threaten the very future of our youth. There are alarming reports that dangerous narcotics such as ICE, cannabis and heroin are being freely circulated among schoolchildren as young as 9 years. The Police and school authorities have taken the rather unprecedented step of checking the bags of school children for drugs. But this, we feel, is akin to closing the stable door after the horse has bolted. We urgently need preventive and educative measures – that is where Places of Worship enter the picture. The priests of the respective religions should maintain an active dialogue with children to teach them about the grave (literally) consequences of taking drugs.
There has also been an alarming rise in the number of youth who have reported symptoms of depression and other mental conditions. This has led some of them to take their own lives. Many of these incidents could have been prevented if they had a closer bond with their respective religions.
The sanctity of life is a fundamental teaching of all religions. In rising up from the dead, Jesus Christ showed that life is an all-conquering force. In any case, death does not solve any problems, only living does.
But life itself has become a commercial commodity in today’s fast-paced, globalised world. Not many people take a few minutes during Christmas to contemplate on the words of Jesus Christ which still ring true or even read a few lines from the good book. Christmas itself has become a glitzy, highly commercialised affair and this is true of most other national celebrations. An alien who visits the earth can be forgiven for thinking that Christmas marks the birthday of Santa Claus, not Jesus Christ.
Today, we must see beyond the decorations, illuminations and the baubles to glean the true meaning of Christmas which is about brotherhood and love. Helping an underprivileged neighbour reflects the spirit of Christmas more than putting up a row of lights. Christmas is a time to give – and to forgive. Keeping old enmities simmering does not help anyone. Christmas is an ideal opportunity to heal old wounds at both personal and community levels. Sri Lankans have gone through a lot over the past 40 years or so, dividing a great nation over man-made differences. As we mark Christmas and herald in a new year in just a few days, the time has come to resolve these differences and go forward as one people, one nation to overcome the present challenges.