No “Silent Night”

Christmas, as celebrated by the world in the previous decades, has more or less been characterized by merriment and cheerful noises. Even with the internet, no matter where we are on this planet, no one has ever been truly affected by the problems that have affected those who are from the opposite sides of the globe, or if they choose not to. 

Hence, the carols continue – to each his own. But the first Christmas was not even that way; an economic decline was beginning to brew in the once great Roman Empire, with the government responding by conducting a census to monitor current and potential tax payers; Mary and Joseph went to his hometown for the said census but had no comfortable place to stay, much less for the former to give birth to Jesus, the Son of God. Shepherds are working overtime on the fields, enduring the cold night air and sleeplessness; Herod ordered the murder of every male children in the land (two years old and younger) to maintain his political power. In other words, the birth of Jesus was no silent night at all.

Christmas of 2020

Perhaps, Christmas this 2020 is no different than the one that happened centuries ago. What with some people who are staying far from their families choosing to go home to spend even just the holidays with them, but instead of just the usual struggles of being stranded and enduring lengthy travels,  they are now also required to undergo swab tests or/and a few weeks’ worth of quarantine isolation, which they can’t help but spend thinking hard about the results of. Others lose their jobs while some are afraid and struggling to keep that which they have. Patients undergoing medical treatments for other illnesses simply decide not to continue, while most health-workers would probably be grateful if they can just stay at home for the holidays for their families’ sake. Additionally, more and more cases of CoVid-19 are being discovered daily, with an undeniable number of people dying of the said virus. With a sense of fear this rampant, the worst possible scenario will be to question the will of God and eventually, give up all hope.

Christ: The One and the Same

But not even history repeating itself will ever come close to the power of the God who basically wrote it. He who provided Mary and Joseph with a manger to spend the night when there was no room for them at the inns, the One who sent the angel to an ordinary man in order to protect his wife’s newborn son from imminent death, and the One who placed that star in heaven so that all those men who sought Him found Him, is the very same God that carried us this year and allowed us to witness this wonderful season of the year. 

Because as we can see, this season is a “celebration” of a gift that has already taken place ages before we were even born and learned how to worry. That the Deliverer that we have is not someone who is yet to be with us, but someone who is already within us at this very moment. So keep fighting and keep praying for 2021, for even the Word of God was sure that “neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39)

Know that He is of utmost control. Happy Holidays!