- Archbishop Prince Antony Panengaden
Archbishop of Shamshabad
Christmas is an occasion of great joy for the whole world. At the time of the birth of Jesus, the angel appeared to the shepherds living in the fields and said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see – I am bringing you good news of joy for all the people. To you is born this day in the city of David a saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11). The birth of Jesus is presented here as the good news of great joy for all the people. Why is the birth of Jesus good news of joy? How does Christmas bring joy to the world? Christmas offers good news to the whole world for the following five reasons.
First of all, Christmas reminds us that “God is with us.” At the birth of Jesus, the prophecy of Isaiah (Isa 7:14) was fulfilled as attested by Matthew 1:22-23, “All this took place to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: Look, virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means God is with us.” Furthermore, John 1:14 says, “the Word became flesh and lived among us.” Human life is very often marked by various forms of suffering and adversity. To know that “God is with us” amidst such sufferings and adversities is a matter of great joy and comfort for the people. According to Rev 21:3-4, the presence of God among the people consoles them and gives them hope for a new life: “See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.” The presence of God in the world is a source of comfort for the suffering people. Jesus’ presence in this world was not limited to his thirty-three years on Earth; rather, his presence in the world is everlasting. Jesus says, “I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt 28:20). Moreover, Heb 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Christmas assures the world of the unfailing presence of Jesus, even amidst all pains and agonies, which is a reason for joy.
Christmas reminds us that “God is with us.” Human life is very often marked by various forms of suffering and adversity. To know that “God is with us” amidst such sufferings and adversities is a matter of great joy and comfort for the people.
Secondly, Christmas speaks about the love of God for the world. The birth of Jesus in this world is an obvious sign of God’s love for the world. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only son” (John 3:16). Love of God consists in the fact that God sent his only son to this world for the forgiveness of the sins of the people. “In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:10). God did not send Jesus to see the world, but rather to lay down his life for the world. Birth of Jesus in the manger was in view of his death on the cross. In that sense, manger was a prefiguration of the cross, the supreme sign of love. Jesus’ love is the greatest love in the world, for “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (John 15:13). “That he laid down his life for us” (1 John 3:16) reveals the love of God. The depth of the love of God is manifested by the fact that Jesus died for us even as we were weak and sinful.
“God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8). Thus, every Christmas reiterates that God still loves the world, which is a reason for joy.
Thirdly, Jesus made the invisible God visible to the world. John 1:18 says, “No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.” The occasion of Christmas reminds us of this unique function of Jesus, i.e., making the invisible God visible to the world. It is an often-repeated idea in the Old Testament as well as the New Testament that God is invisible. According to the Old Testament, no one can see God and continue to live. For example, the Lord says that “You cannot see my face; for no one shall see me and live” (Exod 33:20). The statement that “the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend” (Exod 33:11) is not necessarily a literal vision of God’s face, for the Lord says to Moses, “my face shall not be seen” (Exod 33:23). In the New Testament, it is unambiguously established that no one except Jesus has seen God. In John 6:46, Jesus says, “Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father.”
The birth of Jesus inaugurated a new era, marking the dawn of true peace. Jesus Himself defines the unique quality of the peace he offers. It is an inner security, wholeness, and reconciliation with God that remains firm even amidst chaos and fear. If Jesus is born in our hearts, we will be filled with peace.
Furthermore, the passages like John 5:37; 1 Tim 6:16; 1 John 4:12 make it clear that no one has seen God. From the point of view of the humanity, it is a very painful situation that God is invisible. On the one hand, people have thirst for God and they seek God, while on the other hand, they have sufferings and different needs and they search for God. But God is invisible! How can people see and love an invisible God? How can people talk to an invisible God in their miserable moments? In this context, Jesus came to this world to make the invisible God known and visible to the world. It is his unique relationship with God, the Father, that enabled him to reveal God. Jesus’ uniqueness consisted in the fact that he was with God (John 1:1), he saw God and what he was doing (John 5:19), he heard from God (John 8:26,28), and he came from God (John 3:13; 4:34; 6:38; 7:28-29; 8:42; 16:28; Gal 4:4). Because of this distinctiveness, Jesus could reveal the invisible God to this world. He declared to the world what he saw in the presence of the Father (John 5:19; 8:38) and what he heard from the Father (John 7:16; 8:26,28). Since he did what the Father did and spoke what he heard from the Father, those who saw Jesus could see the Father (John 14:9). Therefore, Jesus is rightly called “the image of the invisible God” (Col 1:15), who manifested the hitherto invisible God to the world, which is a reason for joy.
Fourthly, the birth of Jesus inaugurated a new era, marking the dawn of true peace. This reality was immediately proclaimed by the heavenly host to the shepherds: “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favours!” (Luke 2:14). This divine proclamation fulfilled the ancient messianic prophecy found in Isaiah, where the coming child is named the “Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). Jesus is the embodiment of this promised peace, and his presence is the ultimate assurance of it. Jesus offers peace to the world, saying “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid” (John 14:27). Here, Jesus Himself defines the unique quality of the peace he offers, distinguishing it sharply from the world’s fragile stability; the world offers peace as the absence of troubles, a temporary truce or cease-fire, whereas the peace given by Jesus transcends all troubles. It is an inner security, wholeness, and reconciliation with God that remains firm even amidst chaos and fear. Jesus powerfully demonstrated this by offering his peace to his frightened and troubled disciples after the Resurrection, saying, “Peace be with you” (John 20:19, 21, 26). In sum, the birth, life, and presence of Jesus provide the ultimate foundation for peace. As Paul states, “he is our peace” (Eph 2:14). If Jesus is born in our hearts, we will be filled with peace. This is yet another reason for the above-mentioned joy.
Finally, Jesus is born as the saviour of the world. The angel declared to the shepherds: “To you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord” (Luke 2:11). The name of Jesus comes from the Hebrew name “Yeshua”, which means “Yahweh saves.” Thus, the very name of Jesus stands for salvation. The angel of the Lord said to Joseph: “She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Matt 1:21). Jesus was given that name because his mission was to save the people from their sins. “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2). It is worth mentioning in this context that, seeing Jesus, Simeon said, “my eyes have seen your salvation” (Luke 2:30), suggesting that the vision of Jesus was an experience of salvation for him. Furthermore, the Bible attests that Jesus was sent to the world to save the world (John 3:16-17). For this reason, he is called “saviour of the world” (cf. 1 John 4:14). The presence of Jesus in the world is the sign of salvation for all who believe in him. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will have access to salvation without any distinction (Acts 2:21; Rom 10:13). By the birth of Jesus as the saviour of the world, the door to salvation was opened to all. For all these reasons, we can say, Christmas brings the good news of great joy to the world.
