For many Americans, Christmas is a time to exchange cards and gifts, decorate homes
with Christmas trees and sparkling lights, and enjoy a special dinner with friends and
family. For Christians, it’s foremost a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, through
whom, Christians believe, everlasting life can be attained.
Over two thousand years ago and in the humblest of
circumstances, a child of destiny is born in Bethlehem. His
birth, life, and subsequent death will cause earthly kings
to kneel, hasten the decline and fall of the Roman Empire,
and change the course of world history. In his name,
popes will maintain armies, plot with kings to conquer the
lands and convert the people, and approve the Spanish
and Goan inquisitions. In his name, Mother Teresa
will minister to Calcutta’s outcasts. In the name of Jesus
Christ, we celebrate Christmas.
The world’s two billion Christians believe Jesus Christ
is the son of God, through whom we gain everlasting life.
Church doctrine states that only through Jesus can the
world’s people gain eternal salvation, a belief in direct opposition
to those who view Jesus as nothing more, or less,
than a spiritual guru.
Who, in fact, is Jesus Christ?
Before we study the basic tenets of the Christian faith,
I wish to note that I have
no authoritative answers
or academic credentials
for the task at hand. Like
most Americans, I was
born of Christian parents
and inherited their faith.
I will die a Christian. But
that is not to imply that
my path has been unquestioning,
or easy. It has
been rocky, in truth, much
more akin to a bus ride
from Shimla to Kochi than
a private jet from the Vatican
City to Jerusalem.
My first religious instruction
came from the
nuns of Holy Trinity Elementary
School in Poughkeepsie,
New York.
“In just seven days
God creates the earth,
and the earth is good,” Sister Mary Williams told our first
grade class. She said that God populated the earth with
creatures, including the first man, Adam. Seeing Adam is
lonely, he creates Eve, and for a time the pair live happily
in the Garden of Eden. Then the devil, disguised as a serpent,
convinces Eve to disobey God’s orders and eat of the
forbidden fruit. “One bite and you will become the equal
of God, that’s why he ordered you not to eat it,” the
devil whispers. Eve eats the fruit, and the downfall of
mankind—sin and disobedience to God—begins. The story
of creation is contained in the rollicking first book of the
Bible, called Genesis.
Later in Genesis, and in subsequent chapters of what
Christians call the Old Testament, we learn of faithful men,
like Abraham. When God demands that Abraham kill his
son, Isaac, as proof of his obedience, he prepares to do so.
At the last moment an angel appears, praises Abraham
for his faith, and orders Abraham to free his son. Because
the story of Abraham
and Isaac is in the Jewish
Torah, the Islam’s Koran,
and the Christian Bible,
the three religions are
called “Abrahamic faiths.”
Moses is another one
of the Old Testament’s
greatest heroes. During
the time of the pharaohs,
he leads the Hebrew people
out of Egyptian bondage
and toward God’s
“promised land.” During
his journey he climbs
Mount Sinai and encounters
God. He receives from
God the stone tablets
containing the famous
laws we know of as the
Ten Commandments.
The Old Testament
contains stories that date
4,000 years, to the time of the Egyptian pharaohs. By no
means, however, are all the books of the Old Testament
considered “settled history,” for there is hardly universal
agreement as to which stories are exaggerated, which are
allegorical. For example, in Genesis we read that God created
the world in six days, and there are Christians who
believe this is literally true. How are we to interpret the
story of Noah? God appears to Noah and tells him to build
an ark, and when completed, to load two of each kind of
animal on board. Then God, disgusted with humanity’s evil
ways, floods the earth and kills the people.
Several years ago, I taught Sunday school to our
church’s high school kids. They are bright kids, so when I
asked, “Who wrote the Bible?” I expected sharp answers,
but that is not what I got. As a group, they answered “God,”
so I told them no, that’s stupid, how could God personally
write the Bible?
“Oh. Did Jesus write it?”
Sigh. That’s another bad answer, I told them, worse
than the first.
The first half of the Christian Bible, the Old Testament,
details Hebrew history, heroes and prophets from
the days of the pharaohs to the birth of Jesus. The second
half, the New Testament, primarily consists of four gospels,
and letters from the famous evangelist, Paul. It is in these
texts where we read about Jesus, his life and his teachings.
Christians include the Old Testament in the Bible because
some Jewish prophets foretold of a coming “king,” to be
born of the “House of David.” Christians believe the king
was Jesus, but those of the Jewish faith do not.
Decisions on what to “canonize” in the New
Testament were made by church leaders, 300 years after
Jesus was crucified. Gospels written by evangelists
known as Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were included,
while hundreds of others, including some much different
than the four canonized gospels, were not. Christians
believe that such selections were ‘God-inspired.’
The New Testament begins with the gospel of
Matthew. In just a few short sentences, he captures the
Christian view of Jesus Christ and the familiar story
of Christmas:
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph,
but before they came together, she was found to be with
child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband
was a righteous man and did not want to expose
her public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
But after he had considered this, an angel of the
Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son
of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your
wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy
Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give
him the name Jesus, because he will save them from
their sins.”
The gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, written
at different times and for slightly different audiences, tell
of Jesus’ ministry on earth. We learn that as a young boy,
Jesus amazes the rabbis with his knowledge of Jewish law.
But then, nothing! The gospels do not tell us what Jesus is
up to for the next two decades of his life. When we next
meet Jesus, he is beginning his adult ministry.
Matthew’s gospel is a brilliant and accessible work of
literature. We are part of the excited crowd that hears Jesus
preach, ranging from his surprising parables to his famous
and soaring ‘Sermon on the Mount.’ We are eyewitnesses
as Jesus heals the sick, exorcises demons, hugs the lepers,
comforts the poor, feeds multitudes with a handful of
bread and fish, and performs his miracles.
The crowds grow larger. Both Jewish and Roman authorities,
eager to maintain the status quo, take note.
Jesus is relentless. When he sees money changers
profiting from work inside the temple and screams, “You
snakes and vipers, how will you escape being condemned
to hell?” the end is near. On Good Friday, Jesus is crucified
and dies on the cross.
For those who view Jesus as a spiritual guru, this is the
end of the story.
For Christians, however, the story continues. If the
story does not continue, there is no Christianity.
According to the gospels, on Easter Sunday, exactly
three days after his crucifixion, Jesus rises from the
dead and appears to his frightened apostles.
Christian creeds and theology tell us that during
the three days in question, Jesus had
defeated Satan and his evil forces, and
by doing so, provided everlasting life
for all of those who believe.
Jesus spends a few more
weeks among his apostles
before his final ascension
into heaven.
On Christmas Day, the
world will recognize the birthday of Jesus
Christ. Ministers and priests will deliver
predictable sermons, and later in the day
there will be presents and a fancy dinner.
It is a day of celebration for Christians, and
for many Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, and
Muslims, too; Jesus would not want it any
other way. His is a universal message, and
for that we are all blessed, including those
of us who find ourselves bouncing on that
rough road between Shimla and Kochi.
Merry Christmas!
Americana is a monthly column highlighting
the cultural and historical nuances of this land
through the rich story-telling of columnist
Bill Fitzpatrick, author of the books, Bottoms
Up, America and Destination: India, Destiny:
Unknown.