Jesus of Nazareth was referred to the Christ by His followers, originating from their impression of Jesus being the saviour and the Messiah. The Greek word, christos in Hebrew language meant Meshiah, whom the followers of Jesus considered as the one who came to establish the Kingdom of God on earth.
During this season of advent, my thoughts hover over the theme: who was this Jesus, born at Bethlehem around whom the festivity of Christmas is centred.
In a conversation, a friend of us mentioned that he was about to travel to London to see the 'lights, colours and decorations' in the streets and shops of London to welcome the Christmas season. I am told that it is sepctacular with no parallel to any other occasions. Anna and I had a glimpse of this annual show, on a few occasions when we happened to be in London in December.
The festival discounts for sale in supermarkets in India during the Christmas season is so popular that most people do their major shopping of large items for personal or domestic use during the Christmas season if they missed the Dipavali season when similar discounts re offered in shops. The Christmas season associated with the festivity, greetings, parties, church services, family get-togethers sometimes can drown the core of the Christmas which is centred in the life and mission of Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
Let me suggest five thoughts that surface in my mind as I mediated on this theme, Jesus the Christ of Christmas, in order to have a larger view of the Christmas beyond the festivity and celebration !
What is that which makes Jesus the Christ of the Christmas incarnational pointing us to God of our lives ?
1. The Nazarene manifesto
The surprising event which made an impact about Jesus on His listeners was when He read out from the scroll, which was handed over to him to read in the synagogue about Himself, which was a prophecy of the Isiah. The passage had the following text:
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; because He anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives. And recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are downtrodden, to proclaim the favourable war of the Lord" (Luke 4: 18-19).
Jesus after reading the text above, said publicly, 'Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in your sight'.
The above prophecy which Jesus authenticated, caused rage to those who were present in the synagogue (Luke 4:28-30) and plotted to throw him down the cliff. Jesus passing through their midst, went His way. Following this Jesus came to Capernaum in Galilee on the sabbath and entered the synagogue to teach. 'They were amazed at His teaching, for the message was with authority' (v32). Jesus healing a person who was possessed by a demon, became an illustration to the people around, about the mission and authority of Jesus to preach and to heal.
It was based on the Nazarene manifesto, Jesus "appointed those whom He Himself wanted and they came to Him. And He appointed twelve that they might be with Him and then He might send them to preach, and to have authority to cast out the demons" (Mark 3:13-14).
The Christological theologians suggest that the above passage which Jesus read from the scroll is a summary of the mission of Jesus of Nazareth, because of which it is referred to as the Nazarene manifesto.
In the context of the physical healing included in the Nazarene manifesto, I explored how I can understand the content and frontiers of the healing ministry of Jesus.
Let me explore three words which appear in the gospel narration of the healing performed by Jesus of Nazareth.
Sickness:
Simon's mother-in-law was lying sick with a fever (Mark 1:30). She was incapacitated by the fever and its effects that she was lying down. So sickness involves impairment of physical functions, exhaustion, emotional fatigue so much so, she was not able to offer hospitality to anyone who visited her and needed assistance even to get up. It was following the recovery from this sickness after Jesus healed her, she got up and 'waited on them'. The recovery was instantaneous. The symptoms disappeared and wellness in body and mind returned to her. The fever was a symptom and the after effects of fever made her sick, reducing her ability to be usual.
As a health care professional I appreciate this as impairment of normalcy, the consequences of a sickness. It is a sate of being 'ill or unhealthy' ! Health is wellness in body, mind and spirit.
In medical terms this form sickness can be a dysfunctional state with transient effects on the body, mind and spirit. The word sickness represents a state of unwellness, which deprives a person from carrying on with normal activities. This might be short lived.
I felt unwell recently with decreased appetite, disinterest to do the usual activities, and wanting to be on the bed. An emotional fatigue was what I thought was the reason for this. The travel I was booked for was only two days away. The anxiety about having to cancel the travel weighed on me. Even Dulcie, wondered why I was on my bed most of the day. The circle of events around the underlying cause was what made it as a sickness, instead of it being only an insignificant departure from wellness.
Jesus healed those who were sick
Illness
And when evening had come, after the sun had set, they began bringing to Him all who were ill and demons possessed" (Mark.1:32).
An illness is a disease with definable causal pathway, with the disease having its course of effects in different parts of the body, The multiple effects of an illness would make this a form of health impairment serious enough with its own consequences.
I suffered from coronary heart disease which limited my exercise tolerance and inability to do the usual activities I was used to. It needs surgical intervention.
The 'demon possessed' who were brought to Jesus also had an organic dysfunction in mind, impairing their social life, relationships and work place behaviour.
An illness alters the health status significantly that a medical treatment alone is not often enough. A person would need support, care, and enablement for recovery. Such situations would need an integrated approach to restore a person to wellness. If a person has a mental illness it would need long term care and reahabilitative approach.
Jesus had "healed many, who were ill with various diseases and cast our many demons.." (v.34)
Disease
There are medical conditions which are chronic which would disable a person. A paralysed man brought to Jesus carried by four people (Mark 2:1-13); a woman with a chronic bleeding disorder touched Jesus (Mark 5: 25-34); a man at the Bethesda Pool who was unable to walk for 38 years walked when Jesus asked him to take up his bed and walk (John 5:1-17) and Bartimaeus a beggar with visual impairment received sight when Jesus healed him.(Mark 10: 46-52) They are examples of people who received healing either because of the faith of the people accompanying the person (four men) or through the trustful initiative or response of the person going through the alienation and loss of opportunity in life, to which Jesus responded with the gift of healing.
Every disease of that nature had a reducing or depleting effect upon a person from the fullness of life that Jesus came to announce. The medical approach in such situations often are limited and a person can be forced to live with denial of goodness of life.
The healing in such situations in the contemporary context involves, restoration, recovery and renewal to experience the prospects in life.
The Nazarene manifesto is to bring hope and restore people to find the path towards the fullness of life intended by God.
The medical approach in the situations of sickness, illness or disease in the contemporary context specialises in restoration leaving the recovery and renewal poorly attended to in a formal treatment protocol. The medical treatment addresses the symptoms and treats the disease. The effects of such as the sickness or illness associated with the medical condition often get only marginal attention in most instances.
I heard sometime back, how an orthopaedic team of professionals along with the chaplains reached out to person who came to the hospital with fracture a third time, restored him from his alcohol dependence because of which he indulged in street fights and sustained fractures. I felt moved to see the practice of healing in its broad sense in a large hospital. He was helped to be self employed which revived the prospects of the family and the educational opportunity for his children. The Chaplains and professionals lived the call of the Nazarene manifesto.
This is Jesus, the Christ of Christmas, who still influences His followers to pursue the call of the Nazarene manifesto.
2. The Galilean mission
Jesus of Nazareth withdrew in to Galilean territory after getting to know about the beheading of John the Baptist ( Matt 4:12-17). He became an itinerant, moving between places in the Galilean territory. Although He went to synagogues on the Sabbath, Jesus moved into towns and villages preaching and healing. The fulfilment of what was spoken by Isiah the prophet happened in the following way.
"Behod my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved in whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my spirit upon Him, and He shall proclaim justice to the gentiles. He will not quarrel, nor cry out, nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets; A battered reed He will not break off, and a smouldering wick he will not put put, until He leads justice e to victory. And in His name gentiles will hope" (Matt 12:18-21).
This Galilean mission articulated the essence, ethos, and ethics of Jesus of Nazareth. It was a mission of peace, service and shepherding. And yet He suffered ridicule, questioning, and rejection even when He went about doing good. In fact the above passage from Isiah was quoted in the Matthew's gospel after Jesus healed a man with withered hand (Matt 12:8-16) on the sabbath, after which "the pharisees went out and counselled together against Him, as to how they might destroy Him" (v14). They had questioned him, 'Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath'!
Jesus being aware of this, withdrew from this place and many followed him. He healed many following this.
To me this is the substance and truth of Jesus of Nazareth. "While being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously" (I Pet 2: 23).
The Galilean mission of Jesus was giving and forgiving, and ushering in people to God's purpose by bringing abiding love and enduring grace in the lives of all those who turned to Him.
The confession of Simeon, who had stayed in the temple, while seeing Jesus as an infant in the temple when His parents brought Him to perform the custom of the law, ' For my eyes have seen Thy salvation which Thou prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light of revelation to the gentiles and glory of Thy people Israel" (Luke 2: 29-32) was a testimony of all that Jesus would fulfil with His life and mission.
3. The Mountain Discourse
The Sermon on the Mount as narrated in the 5th, 6th and 7th chapters of the Gospel of Matthew summarised the vision of Jesus, for Life, Living and Learning for all humankind. It started with the beatitudes in the fifth chapter where in the first eleven verses, Jesus summarised the preamble to The Way Jesus came to proclaim and practice. His teachings changed the orientation of people from just loving neighbours to loving enemies and praying for them (Matt 5:44). It continues to remain as a counter cultural even now, when the normal response in many occasions is 'an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth' (v38).
Jesus pronounced that 'You are the salt of the earth...you are the light of the world...'(v13-18), which was addressed to His disciples then and all those who would want to follow Him in the time to come. The Sermon on the Mount expounded on, disciples and the world, personal relationships, alms and prayer, fasting and true treasure, cure for anxiety, judging others, encouragement to pray, and two foundations.
Such a profound exposition on the mission and way of living came from Jesus the Christ born at Bethlehem, who had to flee with his parents to Egypt, after his birth, as '...Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him' (Matt 2.13). Jesus suffered and lived His life from Bethlehem to Golgotha in a self giving way, keeping the wellness and redemption of others as His only mission.
Richard Foster in his book, Celebration of discipline: The path to Spiritual growth on the chapter on prayer started with this invitation: 'God has graciously allowed me to catch a glimpse into his heart and I want to share with you what I have seen. Today the heart of God is an open wound of love. He aches over our distance and preoccupation. He mourns that we do not draw near to him. He grieves that we have forgotten him. He weeps over our obsession with muchness and manyness. He longs for our presence. And he is inviting you and me, to come home to where we belong, to come to that for which we were created. His arms are stretched out wide to receive us. His heart is enlarged to take us in'.
What a testimony of hungering for God similar to what we read in Pslams 42: 1-2 and 11. 'As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for Thee, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; When shall I come and appear before God?...Hope in God for I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God'.
I found consolation about what Jesus of Nazareth offers to all those who turn to Him, while reading the hymn below by Fred Kaan:
' Help us to accept each other
As Christ accepted us;
Teach us as sister, brother,
Each person to embrace.
Be present, Lord among us
And bring us to believe
We are ourselves accepted,
And meant to love and live.
Teach us, O Lord, our lessons,
As in our daily life
We struggle to be human
And search for hope and faith.
Teach us to care for people,
For all, not just for some,
To love them as we fond them,
Or as they may become.
Let your acceptance change us,
So that we Amy be moved
In living situations
to do the truth in love;
To practice Your acceptance,
Until we know by heart
The table of forgiveness,
And laughter's healing hart'
I remember how I lived for about four years prior to the COVID season carrying a burden of a broken relationship with a few people with whom I was associated in the work place for several years. The way the situations emerged left me clueless about the way forward. As I was recovering from this valley experience, I faced another crisis of disruption in another place where I had some responsibilities to fulfil. When that happened, it was heavier than the previous experience.
It was then I happened to read about the journey of the Salmon fish, who was born in fresh water travelling to the salty water of the ocean, only to return to the fresh water when it was ready to breed. This arduous journey of three to four years for the Salmon fish is considered needful for its formation to becoming the Salmon fish it is to be. Its formation was a process by being in both waters and the travail of travelling long distances till it found what would make its experience complete. In fact it climbs even a waterfall to reach the fresh water after having been in the sea water for a while.
The passage in the Bible during this season of distress and anguish that I returned to often, was the Sermon on the Mount which became a path finder as it addressed issues in Life, Living and Learning in a way that was healing and restoring.
But for the words of Jesus from the cross, when He forgave the repentant thief, the sermon on the Mount would have remained in human history as a noble philosophy. With the words of Jesus to the thief who was crucified with Him, 'Today you shall be with me in paradise' (Luke 23:42-43). Jesus lived the teachings of the sermon on the Mount.
4. The Christology
Jesus of Nazareth went about doing good, the summary of which is referred to as the Christology consisting of teachings, parables, miracles and interaction with people. This is well summarised in the four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, of the NeTestament of the Bible.
Each of the authors has different sources to narrate the life and work of Jesus, with many happenings in common and some unique to each of the gospel. The detailed recording of the sermon on the Mount can be found in the gospel of Mathew and the details about the John the Baptist is only available in the gospel of John. The Luke's gospel has a chapter describing the three parables of lost sheep, lost coin and a lost son. It is in the Mark's gospel we find an elaborate description of how four men brought a paralysed man to Jesus by lowering him down from the roof as no access was available because of a crowd listening to Jesus.
It is this record of the Gospels which authenticate the life, work, suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. The events centred around the birth of Jesus is only a tip of the iceberg about the persona and ministry of Jesus.
Beginning with the birth of Jesus, the Christology offers us a fascinating experience of how God became a man and dwelt among us to make God's love known to us/.
5. The narratives of the followers of Jesus
The New Testament of the Bible is a collection of narratives of those who have had an experience of personal knowledge of Jesus, who wrote books of the New Testament. Some authors who contributed by their writing as epistles or letters the New Testament were Paul, Peter, James, Timothy, Titus, and Philomen.
There is a large fund of information, personal experiences, expositions or commentaries available, written by authors who as followers of Jesus Christ experienced the reality of God in their lives. People continue to write their personal encounters with Jesus thematically or by sharing their biographical sketches.
Let me conclude my personal reflections about Jesus of Nazareth in connection with another advent season.
Who is Jesus the Christ of Christmas?
This Jesus was the person to whom a boy gave his meal packet of five loves and two fish, when Andrew, a disciple of Jesus came searching for food to feed the five thousand people when Jesus was moved with compassion to give them a meal (John 6: 1-14). Jesus multiplied the food and the disciples gathered twelve basket full of left over food after feeding the five thousand who were present.
I have had a personal experience of Jesus touching and changing the course of my life from being a communist in thinking to vibe a follower of Jesus sixty years ago through the reading of the gospel of St John in the new testament of the Bible. It was following the police stopping and beating up many students who were protesting against a fee rise in the university. It occurred to me that communist philosophy involves violent means. The text in John's gospel in the fifteenth chapter was the beginning of a new consciousness dawning on me of a loving God as revealed in the person and teachings of Jesus.
It was following that beginning, the Christmas became a personal experience of God incarnate, making His coming as a babe at Bethlehem a message calling me to prepare my heart to be a manger for Him.
The Jesus, the Christ of Christmas, is our God, ever present with us- Immanuel!
I was moved by a hymn by Dr D.T.Niles, a theologian of Sri Lankan origin, quoted in the book, Jesus Through the Middle Eastern Eyes by Kenneth E. Bailey (p61):
"On a day when men were counted,
God became the son of man;
That is name in every census
Would be entered, was his plan.
God, the Lord of all creation,
Humble takes a creature's place;
He whose form no man has witnessed
Has today a human face.
When there shone a Star of David
In the spangled eastern sky,
Kings arrived to pay their homage
To the Christ, the Lord most high.
Yet not all, for lo there sounded
Through the streets a fearful cry,
For a king who will not worship
Has decreed the Christ must die.
Yet, it's Christmas, and we greet Him,
Coming even now to save;
For the Lord of our salvation
Was not captive to the grave.
Out of Egypt came the saviour
Man's Emmanuel to be,
Christmas shines with Easter glory,
Glory of eternity"
The above hymn is a narration of the full story of Jesus, the Christ of Christmas at Bethlehem spending childhood in Egypt, that he was born, threatened to be killed as a child, lived among men, suffered and died and rose again to bring the glory of Easter to all humankind on earth. The Christmas was glorified by Easter.
If so the decorations, colours and lights in the London streets is just a recall of the starry night. The sunshine on the empty grave and appearance of the risen Christ to His followers alone would complete the story of incarnation!
It is this incarnate Jesus the Christ, who 'makes all things new' as 'He was the same yesterday, today and forever'!
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But hope in the Prince of Peace is what we shall continue to announce, as an invitation to come to Him, who gives grace to love and strength to serve freely !
M.C.Mathew (text and photo)
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