Who are these people who walked in darkness and yet have seen a great light? Who are those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on whom light has shone? And what is this darkness? What is the light?
“A decree went out from Ceasar Augustus that all the world should be registered. And all went to be registered, each to his own town.” They all went and they all walked in darkness! Because their lives were thrown into the darkness of history by one decree from the mighty Ceasar. Torn away from their everyday joys and sorrows, from the ordinary reality, the struggle for survival, they are the simple people whose lives are easily disturbed by the great events of history: by the rulers, the nobles, the rich men and the heroes of the day, by nature and her capricious gods and deities. People who, in their turn, have almost no influence on that same history themselves, not much in common with the great men up there, nothing at all with the mighty gods further up. This simple people, their joy is “the joy at the harvest”, as the prophet puts it, they rejoice when the natural cycles of life are not interfered with by war or by natural disaster. Their joy is more of a relief really. A relief that their lives were allowed to go on undisturbed for another year, without being thrown into the darkness of history by a whim of a Caesar. And when there is a war, relief that their side prevailed. At least this time around they would be spared pillage, hunger and death, at least their young men who have gone to fight are more likely to come back alive. Tonight a child is born to these people, to us!
Tonight God has broken “the yoke of our burden, the rod of our oppressor” and he has broken them for good. “For every boot of the trampling warrior in battle tumult and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire.” Beautiful lines from the prophet Isaiah! It is as if everything that wars are fought with simply disappeared. “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end. The Zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.” The relief we were mistaking for joy, the Zeal of the Lord's turns into real joy tonight. The yoke is broken, the yoke of a meaningless existence, of being insignificant, of being reduced to the dust of history, as the great ones of the earth and gods of nature, war and money play their games above our heads, the yoke of being a very minor statistic fact in the grand scheme of things, doomed to disappear without a trace after death.
How is this yoke broken tonight, you may ask? God is born to us! Not somewhere above our heads, in the upper echelons. God came to dwell with us, the little ones, the ordinary, the small fry, worrying about the next harvest, about jobs, money, schools, children, elderly parents, food, health, politics, weather, you name it. God came to dwell with us and thereby broke the yoke of meaninglessness and insignificance, the yoke of being just a tiny speck on a small planet on the outskirts of an average galaxy. We are “the shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night” just outside Bethlehem. The glory of the Lord shines around a very common scene, the backstreets of Elgin, or perhaps Dunfermline (another royal city) or somewhere similar. And shepherds, tradesmen, teachers, shopkeepers, whoever lives nearby frankly, are invited to witness it, the greatest event in world history.
If this sounds too much like a political manifesto at times, it really isn't. God is born tonight to the great ones of the earth, too. But they have to leave their greatness behind and stand around the manger with us. While the gods of war, money and nature are exposed as either demons or as mindless mechanisms. Any pretence to greatness pales in comparison with the Glory of the Lord. It becomes an embarrassment. Whoever thought he was special on account of fame, wealth, political power or some unique talent, can only feel shame now.
True, the great ones with their ambitions and nature with her laws can still throw us at will or at random into the mess of history. We are as vulnerable as ever. But tonight the Source of all light itself has moved down to our level, it jumped headlong into this darkness to save us. Christ's baptism in Mary's womb, in her who is the Tabernacle bridging heaven and earth, has come to an end tonight. “Fear not, for behold I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Saviour who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.”
DSP