IF Christmas were not such a powerful celebration of hope, Nigerian Christians would be hard pressed to ascribe any wholesome joy to today's feast. All around the country, the gloom and doom of a year that began and is ending on a desultory note, render for many Christians just a ritual commemoration, rather than the joyful celebration that the Incarnation ' God's mysterious intervention in history - should normally call for.Christmas represents the realization in history of the grand promise of a Messiah, the Son of God Most High, who took on flesh and was born of the Virgin Mary, and who engaged in a passionate ministry to liberate the world from sin, to free those who have been held captive to darkness, and to inaugurate a new civilization of love and universal brotherhood. Christians of all denominations hold it as a fundamental article of faith that the salvation of the world and of each and every member of the human race is achieved through Jesus Christ who took on flesh and was born on Christmas day. This unprecedented intervention of God in history ' this gift of his only Son to humanity ' is understood as the greatest gift humanity has received from the Creator. Jesus on his part lived an undiluted life of sacrificial love, selfless service, generosity, peacefulness, compassion, forgiveness, and finally endured a vicarious death for the salvation of all men and women. The birth of Jesus Christ has over the last two thousand years therefore been marked every year by the Christian faithful with an abundance of joy and a rekindling of hope. It has evolved over time to become an occasion for family re-union and the exchange of gifts.As the event of the Incarnation celebrated at Christmas highlight God's untiring love for humanity, and his commitment to save everyone from the destructive life of sin, hatred, violence and death, Christmas challenges Christians and non-Christians alike, to embrace those virtues that are exemplified in Jesus Christ, and which are generally recognized as capable of turning each society around - from hatred and violence to love and peace, and transforming their living circumstances from widespread poverty and incessant conflict to prosperity and peaceful co-existence.Nigerians celebrate Christmas today, even as the nation's leadership fails to recognize the negative effects of policies that are constantly crushing the poor and leaving them stranded, while protecting the interest of the rich and powerful leaders, and providing for their acolytes and cronies. Nigerians celebrate Christmas today, even as they watch their leadership living above the pains of a long-suffering, denied and dispossessed populace; a leadership that is often ensconced in the prisons that the fortresses of high walls and electrified fences have turned their homes into. Yes, Nigerians celebrate Christmas today, even as their leadership appears averse to pursuing the kind of Messianic peace envisioned by the Prophet Isaiah ' a peace that is the fruit of love, equality and justice.Having endured a year of difficult and unsavory choices, and even of the lack of choices, there are many Nigerians who wonder what to celebrate today, and what to expect of life in the coming year. Is it the trauma of terrorism and bomb blasts that have summarily dispatched many victims and rendered countless more incapacitated' Is it the burning of worship places, shops and homes in mindless and unprovoked attacks by religious extremists' Is it the activities of gangsters, the ambush and vendetta witnessed in the political arena where electoral heists are widely promoted' Is it the collapse of social infrastructure that is evident all over the place' Is it the degradation and ongoing paralysis of the education system' Is it the danger of economic strangulation with the fuel subsidy manipulation hanging over the nation like the sword of Damocles' Or is it the perennial anxiety of human needs ' food, jobs, health, shelter and security' It is no wonder that the generality of Nigerians are today willy-nilly confined to simply marking Christmas in a somber mood rather than celebrating.Yet Christmas challenges all to hope that in spite of their stressful and colourless circumstances in the course of the passing year, a change in fortune is possible by the power of the Most High God, who can, and who does indeed intervene in human affairs to right all wrongs. In all their hardship, Nigerians must yet celebrate Christmas today, for they do have a large capacity to cope with deprivations. Their outstanding resilience can only be founded on hope that is a cornerstone of Christian discipleship. Come rain or shine, Nigerians from North to South, and from East to West, should be determined to claim for themselves a well deserved respite from the agony and distress of a tough year. While hoping that the aspirations of the generality of Nigerians for a better tomorrow will not be turned to ashes, The Guardian wishes all our readers a Merry Christmas.
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