We often picture the first Christmas as a scene of perfect tranquility: a silent, holy night evoking peace. This image inspires many to view the yuletide season as a universal call to lay down our conflicts. While the ideal of peace holds undeniable value, a deeper look reveals a more complex and challenging story at the heart of Christmas.
The Temptation of a Peaceful Illusion
There is power in stories of seasonal truce. History recounts moments like the Christmas Eve of World War I, when British and German soldiers, entrenched mere meters apart, lowered their guns. They shared a game of football and exchanged wine, recognizing the shared humanity in their enemies' faces. This fleeting peace so alarmed their commanders that the men were reassigned, lest their newfound hesitation to kill undermine the war effort.
However, this same call for peace can sometimes act as a sedative. In today's context, especially in the Philippines, romanticizing a conflict-free Christmas can mean taking a respite from rightful outrage. It can mean temporarily quieting our anger over corruption scandals involving trillions of pesos in public funds. The call for love and peace, which should extend beyond December, must not come at the cost of speaking truth to those in power.
The Radical, Subversive Nativity Story
To understand Christmas fully, we must remember that the biblical narrative of Jesus's birth was fundamentally subversive. It was a story positioned against abusive power structures. The Son of God consciously aligned himself not with the rulers, but with their victims.
In the Gospel of Matthew, the holy family became refugees, fleeing to Egypt to escape King Herod's murderous decree—a tyrant clinging to power. This echoes the story of Moses, who liberated the Israelites from Pharaoh's oppression. In Luke's Gospel, Mary's song, the Magnificat, proclaims a God who "casts down the mighty from their thrones and lifts up the downtrodden" and "sends the rich away empty." Zechariah speaks of a God who comes "to set his people free" from their enemies.
Christmas in the Shadow of Empire
The circumstances of Jesus's birth were directly tied to imperial control. He was born during a census ordered by the Roman Empire, a tool for subjugation and taxation. By entering the world in this context, the divine chose solidarity with the oppressed. Even the title "Son of God", used by early Christians for Jesus, was a direct challenge to the Roman Emperor, who claimed the same divine status for himself.
So, was that first Christmas night truly silent? Perhaps externally. But beneath that silence lay the grim reality of a people under subjugation. Was it peaceful, if peace means the absence of conflict? The biblical account suggests there was never such a night. The Christmas story, therefore, is not an invitation to ignore injustice for the sake of seasonal calm, but a powerful reminder that true peace is intertwined with justice, liberation, and the courage to challenge abusive power.
