Dr Alexander Jacob IPS (Rtd)

You are a Catholic who has been celebrating Christmas for a long time. What does it mean to you?
In my view, it can mean five things. First, it is a message of hope. Before Jesus, it was Confucius, Plato, Tacitus, etc. who spoke of the birth of a personality who fitted the description of Jesus. We are all well aware of these predictions about Jesus Christ. And the most apt thing for it is the Prajapati Yagam, which has many similarities to the birth and life of Jesus Christ. People were hoping for a great saviour. But when that saviour was born, the Jews could not recognize him. Their expectation was that he would come from a royal ancestry.
Secondly, it carries a message of glory. See the type of family into which Jesus was born. They were poor. God called Abraham much before Jesus, and that man transformed the entire life of his people. His progeny was saved through him. Likewise, he selected Joseph and David who all came from poor families. Jesus’ father was a carpenter and his mother Mary was a weaver woman. But they could reach glory through their birth and life.
The third message Christmas gives is of justice. As a police officer, I am highly impressed with this justice part. When Jesus was born there existed the Mosaic Law, the Hammurabi code, and Manu Smriti as ancient texts. But these texts contained immense cruelty and segregation. Many ancient cultures, whether it was of Babylonian, Athenian, Indian, Chinese, or Sumerian, never had a just moral code. For the first time in world history, the poorest of the poor are provided justice in the New Testament. It was through Jesus Christ that the message of true justice came out into the world.

“For the first time in world history, the poorest of the poor are getting justice. It is through Jesus Christ the message of justice came out in the world.”

The fourth message of Christmas is peace. It was Jesus who taught us to forgive our enemies. Jesus healed people of their diseases. He also healed the mental illnesses of people so they could enjoy peace. So, Christmas for me is a bouquet of these four messages. If these four things are put into practice, Christmas has a meaning. Otherwise, it is only a superficial celebration.
In the gospel of John, it is written, “The word became flesh.” How do we relate our faith to the body, into the flesh, into the dimension of materiality?
Many scholars say that the first ten verses of St John are brighter than Gold. But for Indians, it is clearer that they know Brahma through his words created the Brahmanda (world). The Gayathri mantra in Hindu tradition shows the word incarnated as flesh. The Bhagavatam also tells a similar story.

How does this linguistic part of our lives relate to Christ?
Jesus spoke Aramaic, which is a little different from Syriac. Aramaic has lots of similarities with Tamil and Sanskrit languages. When he says about love and fraternity, we are reminded of many similarities to it in the Indian Vedas.

In the last chapters of the gospel of St John we see that Mary Magdalene is the only witness of Jesus’s resurrection. Because she was a women, she could not be accepted as a legal witness as per Jewish tradition. Why then did St John make her the first witness?
There is is this famous book ‘Who Was Mary Magdalene’ in which they conclusively prove that the Garden of Gethsemane was a private property belonging to Mary Magdalene. She became a strong supporter of the Christians after the death and resurrection of Jesus. She was very close to Jesus and his twelve disciples. There are many theories and stories appearing in books about why Mary Magdalene got the first chance to see the resurrected Jesus, bypassing Peter and John. It needed strong courage to go alone at that time of the day to a burial cave. She asked the gardener for the body of Christ. Then appears Jesus and calls her, “Mariam!” and she recognizes him and replies, ‘’Rabboni!” Thereafter there is a small conversation about which there appear many controversies regarding the translation. Some translated the word of Jesus “Mi mou áptou” (Greek) or “Noli me tangere” (Latin) in John 20:17 as “Don’t touch me.” In Kerala the translation of Mani Kathanar is an example for the latter. Another translation of those words is “Don’t hold me like this.” The second question that is asked is: Why couldn’t she see him?
Scholars says firstly because it was early morning and so was very dark; secondly, she was crying and the tears hid her vision. But the moment she heard his say “Mariam”, she immediately held his body. So the second translation indicates the depth of the closeness Mary to Jesus and highlights the body of the risen Jesus.

December 25 became Christmas day only because of Constantine. It does not relate to anything else. In Constantine’s Roman Empire, that day was observed as the feast of the Sun God. How do you relate this to the ideology of the Roman empire?
Constantine actually wanted to establish peace in his empire. But, before his death, he had committed 36 murders with his own hands. To obtain forgiveness for those sins he accepted Aryanism. There are many who say that September 22 or 23 might have been the real date on which Jesus was born. The Sun God’s feast were celebrated in different ways in the Roman empire. In different cultures and nations there existed celebration of the Sun god’s birthday. So, adapting it as Jesus Christ’s birthday was a fantastic move. Thus the biggest feast of the Romans was absorbed by Christ and Christianity got wide acceptance in the Roman empire. It was an intelligent move to absorb a native festival into Christianity. Likewise, the Bible and Christian belief system have absorbed many things from Babylonian and Persian mythologies. Hellenization of Christianity was its result. That Hellenization seeped into Christianity. Male chauvinism and the acceptance of slavery also came with it, as is evident in the letters of St Paul. Constantine’s intent was to keep under his control all the many subjects who had become Christians.

What according to you is the original identity of Christianity? And what was the authentic teaching of Jesus Christ?
Firstly it is love, love everybody. Secondly it is equality. Women and men are created equal. And he wanted women should to be liberated from Jewish male chauvinism. And he made God a lovable God. He gave God the image of a father. He made every human being children of God.

Does Christianity have anything to offer to Hindu culture or Indian society? Does it have a missionary necessity for India?
In India, we are very familiar with the avatar story – God can take human form. Our culture says “tatvamasi” – that thou art. Which means man can be elevated to God. In that sense, Jesus’s sacrifice made humanity divine. When you get knowledge and life, you became equal to God. Christianity as well as Hinduism says that the essence of humanity is divine.

As an IPS officer, what is your message to Christians and non-Christians in Kerala and India?
Jesus Christ, though he was punished by the Jews, never uttered a curse on them. He suffered under the Romans, but he never cursed them. On the cross, he indirectly blessed the Romans and he gave forgiveness to them. He accepted all of them. Christians in Kerala as well as in India are committing a big blunder: They can profess their religion, but they have no right to abuse Hinduism or Islam or any other belief. Don’t feel either inferior or superior. Such animosity is being propagated even by Church leaders, which is very dangerous. So be mercifully loving and honourable; don’t be communal.