Excerpts of the message delivered on Christmas Day 25th December 2022 by the Most Rev Dr Benjamin Kwashi, Bishop, Anglican Diocese of Jos, Nigeria
At St. Luke’s Anglican Cathedral, 26, Church Street, Jos, Nigeria

Text: John 1:1-14
I feel led to take us through the crisis of Christmas without Christ, and I am going to centre God’s message on John chapter 1.

You know Christmas has turned into celebration; it has also become a commercialization. In fact, there are people whose entire industry is Christmas. They’ve studied it, they know what to sell to you and you must look for the money or borrow or steal or cheat in order to expend your hard earned money on Christmas, to the extend that when the Christmas enterprise is not met, it becomes a crisis; and it becomes a crisis of Christmas without Christ.

There are others who have no idea of the commercialization or the enterprise of Christmas but for them, everyday is a crisis, a crisis of abuse, a crisis of depression, a crisis of lack, a crisis of anger, of depression, of bitterness, of evil, of envy; life is just a crisis and many people are going around like dummies who are wounded and always angry looking for someone to unleash their anger and honestly, life can be a crisis, unless Jesus Christ intervenes. For those for whom Christ Jesus has intervened, either for this Christmas or anytime in life, everyday becomes a Christmas; because Jesus is Lord.The way in which John chapter 1:10 puts it is this way, I quote “He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, yet, the world did not know Him”. That is where the crisis begins. Do you know Him? And even if you claim you know Him, does He know you? Cos it’s one thing for you to know Him, it’s another thing for Him to know you…if you claim you know Him, does He know you? Because it has to be mutually compatible for Christmas to be without crisis because the world did not know Him and He’s just around the corner, Jesus is here, He is everywhere. Do you know Him?In Galatians Chapter 4, Paul tells the Galatian Christians, he said “but when the fullness of time came, God send-forth His Son born of a virgin.” You see, God does not work haphazardly in the whole of creation. He works with His time! God’s time! And as children, we played football and when we loose, we usually say God’s time is the best; it is true, God’s time is the best. They that wait upon the Lord, they that wait, only those that wait, because God’s timing in sending Jesus two thousand years ago was the time for Him in history for which he has been orchestrating the timing in history to come to that point where He will bring salvation to the whole world. It was also his time when he sent the flood to wipe away the sin, the corruption in the world and only Noah and his family were saved. God is a timekeeper. Don’t be in a hurry. But only when you know Him and He knows you. If you do not know Him and He does not know you, you will be rushing, you will be struggling, you will stampede, you will malign, you will slander, you will lie, you will cheat, you will steal, and you might even kill for the sake of one temporary position. Just one position in life- political or civil service or public service or even market!And the birth of Jesus, Luke tells us took place at a certain time by a certain lady, a young girl call Mary. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Mary was His mother. When Jesus was born, the angels sang, they were rejoicing, the shepherds were rejoicing and the shepherds in their joy made the story of Jesus’ birth known, they were so happy… they were telling it all over the place! They told everything. Luke 2:11; Simeon when he saw Mary and Joseph, he also sang the nunct dimitis – now Lord let your servant depart in peace; Anna, the prophetess, when she saw the baby she prophesied- only one man did not rejoice, his name is Herod. If it was only Herod that did not rejoice it would have been okay. The Bible says, Herod was troubled and all Jerusalem with him. Can you see when the Bishop was sick like I was, the whole diocese was sick! In the same way, if any of you my members practice wickedness in your places of work or market and you are evil people will think immediately that it is the leader; it is the Bishop. When God places a person as a manager or a Bishop or an Archdeacon or at any leadership, if you are sick, everybody will be sick and if that is the consistent behavior of those that follow you, then we now know whom the leader is- he is a Herod! Because Herod’s unhappiness did not stop at “all Jerusalem troubled with him” He killed children, he killed them. He caused sorrow for widows, he didn’t care whether that was an only child; he killed all of them. He was threatened by the birth of one little baby. He caused sorrow instead of joy. Why are people rejoicing? He introduced sorrow. As we are talking, yesterday, Kagoro was being attacked, the week before, Malagun, they were conducting funeral yesterday, I couldn’t watch it! Nigerian leaders, this is their own style of leadership; that for eight years and before them another eight years, so for sixteen years and in my own case since 2001, in this city and in this state, nothing but funeral and our leaders are drinking tea eating pepper soup. Every time a village head, a district head of a first class chief is massacred on the plateau, they would say “we would not leave any stone unturned”. The stones have finished. They have been turning the stones for twenty years; since 2001, September 7th, up till today, villages are occupied, they are turning the stones, they will bring everybody to book, the books have finished, we’ve never seen the books.

The Herods of this world don’t want joy, they are sadists, they are evil, they are wicked, children are massacred; I will never forget the picture of that little girl in Zamfara, on the front page of the paper, the father was carrying his little girl with his goat, that was all he had; and the leaders are telling us they’ve constructed airport, rail line, who cares about construction when there is no life? Can you construct life? That is the crisis of Christmas without Christ! When people don’t know God, they don’t care whether you are happy or not as long as they get what they want and they have so much. I have said it before, if only they can take all the millions and leave us alive; I tell you the truth, we are okay! Let them take it and give us our little life, give us life! Kidnappers now are like a federal ministry, because even government pays them to secure their people. Police are being kidnapped, banditry has gone everywhere…and nobody is doing anything, even here in Miango, see army barracks, villages are being wipe out, and they sit down and their girl friends will be touching their heads and they will say everything is alright. They don’t like joy, they want us to be sad. Herod was a mindless, brutal and mean human being. He turned everybody; when he sees you happy, he will get angry and cause something that will make you sad. There are people like that; they don’t like people being happy. He was troubled and all Jerusalem with him; but that is the problem of any Christmas and the crisis of Christmas without Christ. Now, I don’t want to bother you with the crisis because even seating here in church today and now, are people who have caused sorrow for other people; they enjoy it. I remember warning doctors and nurses and people here, I said, if it was your mother during strike that died, what would you say? If you didn’t pass chemistry, how would you have done? That because you are a doctor mortuary will increase! I have said this and I told my children who are in the medical profession, you must stand as a child of God in your practice. Because it will be a curse for which you will answer in the Day of Judgment. That for the sake of money you preferred people dead. The ministry of doctors, and pastors and teachers is called a noble calling. You are nobility. Once you can become a doctor, you are no longer ordinary. At least I teach my own children who want to do medicine…I tell them this because you are the only one who can look at an old man and say baba undress and he will undress. You say mama lie down and she will lie down. You are a noble, you are no longer ordinary; you are a prince of God participating with God in the recovery of the health of another human being. That is what my oncologist said and I quoted him on Facebook. He said I thank God to be a witness of the miracle of God in the life of Ben. He wept with us, sometimes, I shouldn’t say this; but those people did it let me say it; out of their pockets, apart from looking after me, they paid the bills, can you imagine? A doctor, I am not an American, I am not even white…but our doctors in Nigeria prefer people dead! And they are in Church; causing sorrow for other people. Let’s not talk about the politicians because, if we don’t deal with the church, we will not deal with any body. Teachers, they are noble because only a teacher could teach a Bishop… Teachers are nobles. You can’t on strike, no you can’t! If you do, the strike you went through when this child gets out and becomes something what will you tell God? What will you tell God? Strike is a new thing in this generation. Before my own eyes, it was during Babangida that strike began, we did not know strike in our mission schools. Pastors, noble profession…I am not jealous of my colleagues in other profession, I will not beg, why; because I am in a noble profession. God knows how to take care of His own. God takes care of teachers, God takes care of doctors and God takes care of pastors. But when you get those who don’t know it, they become Herods. They kill, they prefer sorrow, let there be trouble every now. God is going to judge. Because you are celebrating Christmas with Christ! The SolutionHere is the solution: John tells us, here is the antidote: the antidote of all of these things is very simple:• You have to accept and receive the gift of God. What does verse 12 of Chapter 1 say? …For all who believe in Him and believe in His name he gave the right to become children of God. That is the only antidote. If you truly do it, you know Him and He knows you, let everybody be flying their helicopter everyday, you will still pass, a thousand will fall by your side and ten thousand by your right side but nothing will happen to you.You are talking about cancer in my life; it didn’t begin now. 1985, Bishop Bello is alive, he was a member of my church, my kidney, the right kidney rot with tuberculosis, 1985, I was passing blood urine, I was dying away. Five months later as Bishop Ogbonyomi was looking for how to send me to England, they were preparing everything, just as it came, that’s how the tuberculosis left. I woke up one day and I said Gloria give me some food to eat. She was shocked…The following Monday over the weekend, we were going to see the doctor because Professor Bello has done his own work in the laboratory, in those days before they do culture it took about 21 days or so, then they took me to their Head of Department who was Prof Gad, an Indian man – he said I should collect my urine for 10 days, so I bout several treated bottles and package 2 cartons of urine to him. They tested it; he held my file, he called Prof Bello, he held my file, held his own, he said have you been taking medicine? I said no sir; he said I can’t understand it; he said you must be near God…God just opened the door to witness to this man. He was a Hindu. I led him to Christ. By following Sunday he was in church…I said God; do you have to take through tuberculosis to save one soul? A whole Professor of Urology. Almost a year later, they came to kill me…they burnt our house, our church- everything! Gloria had traveled. God rescued us. And that has been the mark of my life in faith. So when people threatened me “I will deal with you”, I know they are wasting their time; and I believe Him because He has given me the right to become the child of God and there is nothing you can do…until my day is up, nothing will take me out, nothing. 3 Things very quickly so that I end…
1. Know the Word: John 1:1-4. I am giving you antidote now so that your life can be without a crisis that happens at Christmas. I am giving you antidote of stopping crisis at Christmas or at anytime.
2. John 1:12: Receive the Word
3. John 1:14-18: Witness and bear witness to the Word.I have taking a long introduction to get into the teaching of the word in John’s gospel because we need to truly be confronted with our own ills and evils in the church before the world outside can believe in Christ. The problem that God has is not with those outside, it’s with His children and until we are willing to accept the word, to receive the word, to know the word and to witness to the word the world would not know the word.

1. Know the Word: John 1:1-4The classic ignorance of the world makes the world arrogant. It is ignorant of the word; John tells us that Jesus is that word in verse 1. He’s always in the world. He’s available in the world. He’s invisible in the world. He’s present in the world BUT the world did not know Him. Verse 1, He’s active in creation in the world, He’s active in creation everything on earth and in heaven for nothing created that would have been created without Him but the world does not know Him. Verse 4; He is the life, He is the light. Why is he the life? It is His breath that He breathe to us that is why we are living, but we don’t know Him. He is the life and the light. The light generates power so that we can move, work, earn a living and do good but we don’t know Him. He’s the life in us to live and those who have this life they defeat sickness, they defeat depression, they defeat poverty, they defeat sin, they defeat Satan, they defeat anything the enemy will bring their way, why? Because He is living in them and Jesus has conquered them on the cross. So if you live in Christ and Christ in you, you will be a victor not a victim and you will be more than a conqueror. That is the offer God gives us; and I have heard the heresy that in this ministry, you can’t do it without money, we have to make money first before we do this ministry; where is that in the Bible? Since God called me, God has always provided whether in sickness or in poverty or in anything, God has always provided. God first, money will follow but money first God will not follow. Because Money is a god and you will not worship any other thing but God; for money is an idol; it is. You must earn your living, yes, but when you make money a god, God will not follow you. God is the generating power that never goes out; He is the unquenchable and inevitable source of power to live a life here on earth, He provides all that we will ever need, He provides the creativity in us to be creative for the good of humanity, He provides all the goodness of God in us to present us with a life and power with which to live and last in this life and through to eternity. That is what God does. Darkness is helpless where light appears; but we must receive Him and believe in Him. Avoid the crisis of Christmas without Christ.
2. Receive the Word, v. 12: The word which we now know in the Bible as written word , we now have understood that it now Him who is revealed in the written word through the spirit. It is one thing to be giving a gift it is another thing to receive that gift and still another to be grateful for it …The Word Jesus is freely given. Archbishop Cranmer says “we must read the Word, we must mark the Word, we must learn the Word, and inwardly digest the Word.”Memorize the Word, brethren, if you are a true child of God and you read the word everyday, you do your devotions, you read the Bible everyday, a time comes when you may not be able anymore…. The Word is freely given, are you going to just through it away because it is an ordinary book or Bible? But when you assimilate and you inwardly digest, watch your life overtime and see how the grace of God will be transforming your life, you become transformer overtime and you become influential at work, at home and in the society. This is the way to avoid the crisis of celebrating Christmas without Christ.
3. Be a witness. John 1:14-18The word became human; the word became flesh like any other boy like any other girl. He lives and dwells among people. The only we know whether you know the word, you have receive the word and you have believe the word is when you are living amongst people. They are the ones who will testify; this one is a Christian, this one believes, why do you believe what you believe? You have to live amongst people, particular living amongst unbelievers. If the Church chooses to be a church, unbelievers would be converted without us saying much.

The reason unbelievers are thriving and oppressing us, now we are crying in our places of work, we are worse than they are. Is it exams malpractice; is it in the hospitals, is it in the Universities…Friends, if we do not change, the evil of the crisis of celebrating Christmas without Christ will pursue us in our rooms and our dreams unless the word that became flesh dwells in us, His presence is with us at home, anywhere, just be afraid and always acknowledge the Lord is seeing me even in the dark. The Lord is seeing me in the night. Psalm 139 where can I hide before my God? Let the presence of this God dwell in you, tabernacle with you, surround you because if He is with you, who can be against you?It is disastrously unacceptable that as a Christian, you will live in a community and those among whom you live hardly know the word. They don’t see it in your life; they can’t even feel your love or your kindness. What they see is a Herod who goes to church. When you come home your children and wife are sad, if you’re a woman when you come home your children and your husband are sad. You are a Herod in female body. You make people unhappy.

They hardly know what kind of a pastor this is. What kind of a pastor’s wife this is; what kind of a Christian elder this is in the church.
Those who however know the word,
• V,16 says they have receive grace upon grace and Ephesians 2:10 says for by grace we are saved; grace that enables you to do far and beyond what you can ever think or imagine. Grace that enables you, Titus says, to say no to sin and yes to righteousness.
• Those who have received the word also receive the truth of God. For the truth of God sets all men free; all men, regardless of your tribe, you are my town’s man, tell the truth, you are not my town’s man, tell the truth. Live the truth; for Jesus is the way the truth and the light. Every time you tell a lie, Jesus walks away but every time you tell the truth, Jesus stands by you, He will defend you, He will protect you, He will stand wit you.
• Those who have received the word also receive the fullness of life. Col 1:19; for the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Christ. He gives it to us.
• Those who have received the word have received life and life eternal, John 10:10 the thieve comes to steal, kill and destroy but I have come that you will have life and have it to the full.
• Avoid the crisis of Christmas without Christ.

Brothers and sisters, I have chosen to speak long this Christmas because I don’t know how long I would live, but if I have said nothing at all, I am begging you to know the word. it would soon be January, let us go back to the word, read the Bible everyday, do your devotions everyday…know the word. But secondly, receive the word, receive Him, for only those who receive He gave the power and authority to be call children of God- be a child of God in the environment, in the community, anywhere, any time, you should not be in doubt that you are a Christian; you shouldn’t be in doubt.

Finally, be a witness. Do what the shepherds did. Go and tell people what the Lord has done for you. I know being recovered from cancer, people are saying wow, wow, but listen; that Jesus saved me in the streets of Lagos in 1976 remains the only testimony I have and my passport to the gates of heaven. Any other thing is what God can easily do, if God can save me from death and hell and sin, he can save me from sickness and poverty and anything else, I believe. Do you believe?
Let us pray.

……The reason for the celebration iwe must always keep Jesus Christ at the centre of what we are doing.

……This season is a season of family reunion.

……We have this season to care for one another. it is a season to declare the peace of God with one another.

…….It is the season that we experience the grace, the truth, and the power of God.

…..What do you really want to see in this Christmas dance? partying? celebration? you may say affliction or politics of our time, unfulfilled promises, some failures of the year but you have to look beyond whatever may surround you and look unto Jesus Christ.

PRIMATE CHRISTMAS MESSAGE ( FULL TEXT)

Opening prayer:

Dear Lord and Father, we thank you. That is your great love and mercy. You have thought of us, you have sought for us, and you have manifested your glory. You have regarded us this Christmas as we celebrate the birth of your son, come among us and show us your mercy and help, we ask it in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Reading the text from the Bible Matthew 2:1-2,9-11.

I bring to you Felicitations and greetings of great joy on this Christmas Day; As we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in this year 2022. The year 2022 Has been a mixed bag of several things, good and bad, challenging and things to celebrate but it is necessary for us, to put aside all that we have been through and for once focus on what the Lord is doing and the great things, we have received from him.

This is Christmas; Christmas is about the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, our Lord and our Saviour. The Saviour of the world. As women know, the birth of every child brings joy to the family and the birth of Jesus did not only bring joy to the family of Mary and Joseph but also to the world. You can feel it in the Air or you can experience it in your interactions with people. It is because Jesus brought a change in our history, In our human lives and experiences. Indeed, the birth of Jesus changed the conception and perception of life, it changed human conditions.

As we celebrate his birth, the greatest birthday in the world the attempt of the worldly system to take away the reason for our rejoicing, to take away Jesus from this celebration. “You may see some captions that may say holiday season, it is not just holidays. Some may say they are celebrating Xmas, then take away Christ, while leaving Mass which means celebration.” The reason for the celebration is Jesus Christ and we must always keep him at the centre of what we are doing.

WATCH THE VIDEO ON YOUTUBE HERE

This season is a season of family reunion, we cannot understand why this is happening until we look at the scriptures; when Emperor Caesar Augustus commanded That everybody should go and be registered in his hometown, in his own family. “The Bible says that all travelled, including Joseph and Mary, who was heavily pregnant and about to deliver.  And while they travelled to Judea, The Bible says that this happened because Joseph was of the tribe of Judah, from the lineage of David, the town of Bethlehem. Every Christmas, people travel to be with their families just like it happened in the bible during the birth of Jesus Christ. This is a season of rejoicing in the love and giving gifts because God first gave us the greatest gift. It is a time of rejoicing with one another. Because the coming of Jesus has brought us hope, salvation, deliverance, and grace and proposed to our lives.

For this reason, we have this season to care for one another. it is a season to declare the peace of God with one another. we welcome you to this year’s celebration but let us note that the significance of what we are doing is that God. It is awesome that almighty God chose to become a man; to experience what we are, to share in what we have and in what we are passing through so that his own experience, his suffering death, and resurrection shall deliver us from the bondage of sin and of the devil.

As the word of God says; if the son of God shall set you free, you will be free indeed. we are celebrating what God has done, and the great things he has shared in our family life. He knows the trials that we are passing through as father, mother, brother, sister, son, and daughter, there is no experience that we are passing through that Jesus never passed through. He also had brothers and sisters. He also experienced the struggles of siblings, the hunger and pain of family life, but above all by his sharing in our lives, our family life is redeemed.

He has come to give us hope and direction, so no matter what your family is passing through, this season is the season to celebrate that God has remembered our families. It is the season that we experience the grace, the truth, and the power of God. All these are the demonstration of the love of God for us, so when we talk about the love of God in this season, it is not the love that will have an end, rather it is the love that he has generously given to us. “I want you to know that God loves you no matter what you may be passing through at times, sometimes we write ourselves off we think that because people have said this or done that, we are worthless. God so much loved us that he gave us his only begotten son so that whoever believes in him and trusts in him will not die or perish, but will have everlasting life. This is the season of love and that is why we receive gifts and give gifts because God first gave us, because he has given us let us open our hearts to the love of God and to the love of one another. Let’s share our experience of God in our lives.

God loves us in spite of who we are, it is not because of what we have done, He loves us even when we are offending him. it was a sacrificial love and I’m believing God that is tearing our hearts in a time like this for us to love even those who are different from us, those who may not have liked us. those who may not have wished us. Also, I’m mindful that this message is coming to some of us who may be in a very difficult situation in the IDP camps, those who have lost everything, and those who may be passing through challenging situations, I still want to tell you that even in this situation, God still loves us. His love is not like the love of man. The love of God is awesome and reflecting on the person of Jesus, we must draw close to worship him, adore him and rejoice.

This Christmas, I encourage you to look for a reason to thank God; a reason to rejoice, a reason to sing praise unto God, for it was on the first Christmas when the angels sang to the glory of God. May we receive grace to find purpose or reason to thank and praise God. As we look at the Bible texts in Matthew and Luke, we can see that at the birth of Jesus Christ, as the king of all nations, not just for the Jews; because the wise man said, ‘where is the king of the Jews that were born’ it is not just the king of the Jews but the king of the nations and that’s why we can see a simultaneous revelation of what God.

Those who may not have the special revelation of God, who may not even understand when an Angel may appear, but they gave the revelation of the great best of the king through the star, this simultaneous revelation has shown us that God manifested the best of Jesus Christ both in special revelation and in natural revelation. God revealed this to the wise man, the people who spend time studying the events of the world and interpreting them, when they saw the star in the east. (In those days east could be a reference to Persia present-day Iran) they knew that something extraordinary of great magnitude had happened, it was good news.

WATCH THE VIDEO VIA FACEBOOK HERE

As we move towards the end of the year and into the new year, there will be many kinds of declarations and in most cases, people are triggered by the declarations. I want to tell you Christmas is about the good news, A good tidying of great joy for all people, for all nations, and for all people of every condition and every class. it was a king that was born whose life would impact humanity Jesus Christ is the king of kings and the lord of lords. Everything about him from conception to his birth to his life, ministry, to his death and resurrection his ascension, and returning glory are all contained in the word of God. For he was born according to the scriptures; the seed of the woman who was to destroy the devil, crush the head of the serpent and all his works. As God promised in genesis 3:19 he is the seed of Abraham, through whom the nations of the world will be blessed as we see in Genesis 22. God has chosen to identify with us and be with us. so that he will deliver us and bring us out of the dungeon of our darkness. he is the son, he is the child that was born, the son that was given. he will rule over all the world with the authority that comes from his father, the lord God almighty. For the government shall be upon his shoulders, he is not only the son of man but also the son of God.

The embodiment of God’s head no wonder the bible says “his name shall be called a wonderful, counsellor, Mighty God, everlasting father, the prince of peace. What a personality coming into a world troubled with strife with war and wickedness yet he has come to rule. and his government of peace there shall be no end. His reign shall be unique, he will rule with justice, he will rule with the power of the spirit of God with wisdom and understanding, and he will rule with consolation and empathy no wonder he is called the counsellor. he will rule with knowledge and the fear of God, he will lead the people with equity and righteousness and this is the one we are celebrating by him. All oppressed and held in bondage of sin will experience the light and freedom God gives to his people. God wants us to be fulfilled human beings, living for him and glorifying him.

No wonder when the wise men saw the star and saw what is encapsulated in this style. they said, no, they had to rise up to journey down. their journey brought them to Jerusalem and coming to Jerusalem they wanted to follow the diplomatic means, the diplomatic process; they went to the house of king Herod to enquire about where the king was born. But God is on the move when he wants to do anything, he breaks human protocols and if you want to follow God’s protocol, you need to forget the human protocol the two cannot go together.

My prayer is that we will experience the guidance of the lord not only this Christmas but all through our lives. God will deliver us spiritually, physically, and politically from the hands of the Herod of our time. economically and otherwise. Herod did not want to hear of any king, he doesn’t want to see anything good come to others, and he is out to kill, even those that belong to him. Let us walk in line with the mind of God for the lord says in Isaiah 55:8-9; “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are my ways, your ways.” May we be guided into the ways of the lord in the name of Jesus Christ.

As we follow the wise man to be guided by God may we always be sensitive to what God is doing, to be guided to come out of the wrong ways that we have been going “when they went to the wrong place, the star disappeared but when they came out, they saw the star again, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy whenever God is leading us, there will be joy, peace, guidance. I pray that God will guide our lives as individuals, as families, and as a nation, especially as we look toward the year 2023. “They followed the star when they saw where the star stopped over where the child was, they entered and they saw the young child with Mary, his mother. they fell down and washed him”. May we be drawn to where Jesus is to worship, reverence, and honour him.

These men may have travelled a very far distance. risking everything just to worship; not only to worship but to give gifts from their treasure. These wise men were people that gave significant and prophetic gifts, I pray that as we come to the lord this Christmas, we will give our lives to him and along with our life, give him everything that the lord desires of us our time, our talent, our heart, and our bodies. As Paul appealed in Romans 12:1-2, May we present our source, may we make room for the lord Jesus in our hearts that he will enter in and find a place in our lives. But that can happen first, if we seek, follow and understand Jesus. What do you really want to see in this Christmas dance? partying? celebration? you may say affliction or politics of our time, unfulfilled promises, some failures of the year but you have to look beyond whatever may surround you and look unto Jesus Christ.

The new king has come a new dawn has come, God will do a new thing in our nation, Nigeria. there is great hope, God will do a new thing in our generation because Jesus is born, Merry Christmas.

Archbishop Henry Ndukuba is the Primate of the Church of Nigeria Anglican Communion 

The Bible interprets the event of the birth of Jesus Christ as “The Incarnation – God becoming flesh and dwelling among us,” (John 1:14) translating to Immanuel – God with us (Matt. 1:22-23).

The birth of Jesus Christ is God’s identification with the predicament of man. It is missionary, sympathetic and empathic. God saw the condition that man is plunged to by the fall, set the machinery for his redemption and restoration, and ultimately, came to stand by him to change his woe narrative and doomed destiny. God’s plan for man’s salvation materialised in the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.

When Satan was hauled down to the earth, the angels exclaimed: “…Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you…” (Rev. 12:12). But when Jesus came/was born into the earth, an angel declared it “good tidings of great joy… for all people,” because on that “day in the City of David, a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord” was born. Then a multitude of the heavenly host joined the angel and praised God saying: “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” which reversed the curse/woe earlier declared by the angels to the earth at the entrance of the Devil.  This is the background of the carols/singing and lessons/reflections at the celebration of the birth of Christ.

The tragedy of the fall is damnation and the alienation from God. But the joy of the birth of Jesus is the remedy and reconciliation with God – salvation from sins and God being with us. God with us makes the difference between us and others (Exod. 33:15-16).

In the Bible, God is explicitly stated to be with Moses, Joshua, David and kings; judges and prophets, Virgin Mary, among others. Even Jesus himself declared that he was not alone because the Father was with Him (John 16.32). Peter also reported that Jesus went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the Devil, for God was with Him (Acts 10:38).

God has come to be with us in Jesus Christ, and He promised to be with us to the end of time (Mt 28:20).

“God with us” empowers and strengthens us, enabling us to move and succeed in the strength of He who is with us. However, it does not remove challenges and difficulties of this world.

Gideon asked the question many of us ask today when they consider the challenges they still face, despite God being with them: “If the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles, which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites,” (Judges 6: 13).

It is worth noting that the mentioning of the God being with anyone in the Bible is often in challenging and difficult situation. When God is with you, you may pass through difficulties, but God will turn your adversities for your good. Never be discouraged. You will come out victorious. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me (Psalm 23:4).

A very Merry Christmas to our readers. Continuing with a meditation from Matthew 24 seems inappropriate for a day of such global significance and celebration as Christmas. Yet, it fits in the context by punctuating the cataclysmic scenario with this consoling prelude to the end: the proclamation of the gospel of the Kingdom.

Against all pretentions and denials, the reality all around us is that our greatest need is peace within ourselves, peace with God, and peace among men. The birth of Jesus Christ was announced by the angelic choir with these words: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” (Luke 2:14).

Earlier, the angelic messenger had told the frightened shepherds: “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people,” (Luke 2:10). The angelic ecstasy seemed to be a transmission of the heavenly understanding that was not apparent to the human sphere. There was much trouble around them at the time – both political and spiritual. Two millennia on, the world has proved the difference that the birth of Christ makes to individual lives, families, and nations.

When, therefore, we read these words about the universal proclamation of the gospel preceding the end, we are consoled that the good tidings from Heaven will always be relevant to the human condition; however bad the times may be. It is timeless good news for the worst of times and people.

What really is the gospel of the Kingdom? It is that, in Christ’s birth, ministry, death, and resurrection, a return path has been provided for alienated man to be reconciled to His God.

The sentence of eternal damnation on fallen humanity is eternally changed to a welcome into the family of God for those who welcome Christ into their lives and appropriate the benefits of His saving mission. The life of Christ gives substance to the gospel message and hope to humanity in our troubled world.

The famous composer, Isaac Watts, captured the benefits of the birth of Christ in his famous carol titled, Joy To The World, when he writes: “No more let sins and sorrows grow/ nor thorns infest the ground;/ he comes to make his blessings flow/ far as the curse is found.”

It is not that the whole world may ever embrace the gospel, but it will be as a witness, a testimony that God had made an offer, a provision for an alternative life and eternal destination and everyone in every nation will have a chance to accept or reject God it. This is the passion that drives global missionary endeavours. The verses that follow the most famous verse in the Bible says: “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God,” (John 3:17–18).

Have you made your response to this gospel that will usher in the close of the age?

• Most Rev. Emmanuel Egbunu is the Diocesan Bishop of Lokoja and the Archbishop Emeritus of the Anglican Province of Lokoja.

The Muslim group also presented a gift to the church as a sign of love.

Speaking in an interview with newsmen, shortly after the service, the leader of the team, Isa Mshelgaru, said the essence of attending the service was to promote love, tolerance and understanding among Nigerians.

He said: “We decided to attend this church service today because today is Christmas Day, a day that the birth of Jesus Christ is being celebrated over the globe and we feel that we also have our concern to share with them the feelings of the day Jesus was born.

“The coming of Jesus to this world is a blessing to everybody, so we wish that we should come and celebrate this glorious day with them.”

He said that as Muslims they considered Christians as their fellow brothers and sisters in humanity, stressing that they were at the church service to join them in celebrating and sharing the joy of this day with them.

“As they (Christians) attach importance to this day so also we attach so much importance to the day and that is why we came today to clear all the unnecessary imaginary boundaries that have been created between Muslims and Christians.

“This is important now that the country is facing multiple security challenges that require all hands to be on deck in other to overcome them,” he noted.

On his message to other Nigerians, Mr Mshelgaru advised that Nigerians must come together irrespective of religious, tribal or political divide to save the nation.

In his remarks, Hakila Darmah expressed his appreciation for the visit, adding that it is a milestone that would open a new beginning and would remain a memorable one for a very long time.

He called for a sustained relationship to keep the spirit of brotherhood floating between the two religious.

“In fact, I am so excited that they can think of a thing like this to come and visit us on Christmas Day celebration like this,” he said.

Mr Darmah appealed to Nigerians to emulate the kind gesture of the Shiite group in order to further strengthen tolerance, understanding and brotherliness among Nigerians.

NAN

In his Christmas message on Friday, Buhari said Nigerians should use the season to “encourage ourselves so that the machinations of the wicked ones in our midst will find no place to thrive”.

“It is in the midst of hardship that the true test of a nation emerges,” he added in the message.

“I urge Nigerians to invoke the indomitable spirit in us and see the present order of things as a phase that will also pass, just like other unsavory situations in the nation’s history.

“This government will not abandon the promises made to Nigerians for a better lease of life.”

While noting that the diversification drive of the government “is yielding fruits,” Buhari restated the resolve to do more.

“We shall continue to create opportunities for our teeming youths to ventilate their tremendous energy,” he said.

On the fight against insecurity, Buhari assured that with the renewed commitment of security agencies, Nigerians would soon witness an improvement.

According to him,  his administration has continued to support the security personnel in the discharge of their duties, leading to “remarkable successes”.

“I am confident that with the renewed commitment and empowerment of our committed security personnel, all these issues which inflict pain and trauma on us will soon be history,” Buhari said as he called for “encouragement to our gallant security personnel fulfilling their oaths to keep us safe”.

‘Embrace Vaccination’

Friday’s comment also touched on the country’s fight against the pandemic.

Two days before the president’s message, Nigeria recorded a new high in the daily COVID-19 infection with 4,035 cases.

The figure, which dropped to 1,940 on Thursday, is coming days after the country confirmed the fourth wave of the pandemic.

And as more states join the vaccination drive, President Buhari is also calling on Nigerians to get the jabs.

“I want to use this opportunity to appeal to our dear citizens to embrace vaccination, which is the best scientifically known bulwark against the pandemic,” the message further read.

“Recent events have shown that vaccination greatly reduces the effects of the virus on the human body.”

ChannelsTV

According to a communique from the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), this gesture is to enable Nigerians to travel and celebrate Christmas.

The spokesman for the corporation, Yakub Mahmood, said passengers trains on both standard and narrow gauge lines, which include Abuja to Kaduna, Lagos to Ibadan, Warri to Itakpe, Kano to Lagos, Minna to Kaduna, Abba to Port Harcourt routes are now all free from today Friday 24th December 2021 to Tuesday 4th January 2022 inclusive.

The NRC, however, noted that all boarding tickets due process by “valued customers must be complied with but not paid, while COVID-19 protocols also must be strictly observed on board”.

While wishing all Nigerians a happy Christmas and prosperous New Year, the corporation appealed to them to use the Federal Government’s kind gesture to pray for the country.

He said Christians should not engage in extravagant lifestyles that could lead them to debt, but rather emulate Jesus Christ, being celebrated, who was very content, moderate and disciplined. Cautioning against borrowing to celebrate, the Primate counsels prudence and planning, putting the responsibilities that follow, into consideration. “I want to encourage Nigerians to live within their means. We don’t need to plunder to celebrate God’s life and mercy on us. We have to bear in mind that responsibilities are waiting for us in 2022 – fees, house rent and other bills and necessities,” he said.

Archbishop Ndukuba, who was speaking to journalists at Abuja about Christmas, said Christmas is about godliness, and as such, people should strive to be righteous, rather than cutting corners, stealing and killing. “Godliness with contentment is a virtue. The Kingdom of God is not of eating and drinking, neither is the celebration for that. We are to be in a sober and self-reflection as we prepare ourselves to receive Christ and usher in the New Year,” Dr. Ndukuba elaborated.

The Anglican head highlighted that Christmas is a celebration of God’s love, peace and Gift, and, so, should be celebrated with love, peace, forgiveness and reconciliation with one another. He encouraged people to share what they have and show love to those who have little He said: “In times like this, we should love one another, forgive and reconcile with one another.

As much as possible let us pursue peace because as a nation, as a people, we cannot make any advancement or progress without the help of God and the peace of God.

We should in a time like this remember the less privileged people. Those of us who are employers of labour should be merciful to those under our employment. And those who have power over our resources should also manage those resources with the understanding that our God is a God who loves to give.”

Christmas tells us that as a matter of fact, in a historic/factual time, “when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman… (Gal. 4:4).

The Bible interprets the Event of the birth of Jesus as Immanuel (God with us). ‘So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying:
“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”’ (Matt. 1:22-23)

God with us makes the difference between us and others (Exod. 33:15-16).
The birth of Christ reversed the curse/woe earlier declared by the angels to the earth at the entrance of the Devil.

When Satan was hauled down to the earth, the angels exclaimed: “…Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you…” (Rev. 12:12). But when Jesus came/was born into the earth, an angel declared it “good tidings of great joy… for all people” as he announced that on that “day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” was born. Then a multitude of the heavenly host joined the angel and praised God saying: “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” This is the background of the carols/singing at the celebration of the birth of Christ.

Christmas, in deed, calls for celebration. It is a season of great joy. It is a time of God showing His great love for us. God sent His Son, Jesus, into the world to be born and his birth brought great joy to the world. Shepherds, wise men, and angels all shared in the excitement of knowing about this great event.

This Birth of Jesus was not an accident of history. It was rather the high point of the history of salvation which has been revealed and continued to unfold since the Fall of man. The prophets had told of it hundreds of years before. In fact, the whole of the Old Testament pointed at and moved towards the great Event. The star stopped over Bethlehem just to mark the way for those who were looking for this special born child.

The tragedy of the Fall is damnation and the alienation from God.
But the joy of the birth of Jesus is the remedy and reconciliation with God (salvation from sins). Thus, the History of Salvation, which started with God’s plan for man’s salvation as a remedy to the Fall of man and its disastrous consequences consummated/materialized in the Christ Event, which was kicked off with the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. Christ was born so that he would one day pay for our sins and wrought salvation for us. His story (history) is one of truth, love, and hope and brought salvation to mankind.

Without Jesus, we would all die in our sins.

Celebrating Christmas without Christ is a worrisome anomaly.

The real meaning of Christmas is generally forgotten today. It appears to have become all about gifts and shopping, carols, decorations, get-togethers, feasts, festivities and funs.   It is also seen as a “season” for lucrative business ventures, Platonism and anything but spirituality and reflection.

However, in this seeming merriment that marks the Christmas celebration, there is the paradox that Christmas is also a time of sorrow for many people. They don’t have the extra money to buy presents for their children, family, and friends. Many are saddened at Christmas time when they think of their loved ones who will not be able to come home for various reasons and that feasts and festivities are obviously only a fantasy and not a reality for them.

The reason for the celebration of Christmas is the birth of Jesus Christ. Christmas is a time for celebration, no matter what may be happening, because of the inestimable Divine Gift of His Only Son, through whom we become children of God and have access to eternal life. When we receive this Gift, we are sure of a “Merry Christmas” and a lasting joy and peace.

The Venerable Dr Princewill Onyinyechukwu Ireoba, FIMC, CMC.

Rector, Ibru International Ecumenical Centre, Agbarha-Otor, Delta State.

princewillireoba@gmail.com, trinityfoundationibrucentre@gmail.com