Dr Brainerd Prince
Even as we enter December 2020, and many of us are eagerly waiting to leave 2020 behind – the year that was not – and enter into 2021. The year 2020 has been extraordinary and strange. It has been one of a kind in recent times, when our physical movements, social engagements and even our basic everyday living practices have been drastically modified. While the dreaded virus and the pandemic brought about destruction of human life, the schemes we adopted to fight the virus altered human living a great deal. Cleanliness, personal hygiene, and self-care have been central themes, even as washing hands, masks, and social distancing have become the hallmarks of the present status quo. Lives have been lost, close friends and relatives have passed on. The markets crashed, and many lost their jobs. There has been a gloomy overcast on our lives for the past few months. This year, festivals have neither had the gusto nor the celebratory spirit they usually exhibit in the Indian context.
And yet, it is precisely in moments like these, when we are down and under, feeling that the going is rough that we must celebrate. We have a lot to celebrate – the simple fact that in spite of everything, at least right now, at this moment, both you are I are alive. If at all this pandemic has taught us anything, it is this, that we should not wait to celebrate life, but that life must be celebrated at all times – we never know when life will end. Christmas is a great festival to celebrate life, especially in a pandemic year, like 2020.
Of course, when we think of Christmas, we think of the birth of Jesus. There is a lot one can celebrate about the advent of Jesus – the themes of salvation from sin, of God visiting with us, of God’s great love for humanity, et al. There are plenty of themes that can significantly encourage and challenge us.
In this pandemic Christmas, the themes that stand out the most for me, from the life of Jesus, are the narratives about his resurrection and ascension. I have always been fascinated by these themes. This pandemic has once again revealed to us the finality of death. Close friends and family members have passed on, never to return. When we look at their coffins or funeral pyres, we see a finality of destruction, doom and gloom. It is this finality, this reduction to nothingness, that has always fascinated me.
What is the purpose of everything we cherish in life, if everything ends with death? A question, with which I have often struggled. Who has indeed seen the afterlife after all, or sighted the heavens? Fantastic stories of these places afar, have never really caught my attention or interested me. Stories of hope and assurances of after-life are often shared to fill in the psychological void that death brings, I would think. I deeply struggle with these glib stories of hope, especially when they short-circuit the experience of loss and death.
However, in the narratives of Jesus the themes of resurrection, after-life and ascension stand out and cannot be missed. These narratives recorded in the Bible tell us that after Jesus was cruelly killed and buried in a tomb, after three days, he came back to life. The tomb was empty and the body gone. This resurrected Jesus appeared to many, at one time to over 500 people, before he ascended. Again, the theme of ascension, being taken away from earth, overcoming death, indeed symbolizes life beyond death. We may never completely know or totally understand these historical events, and yet these narratives are integral to any telling of the story of Jesus.
Especially in a pandemic year, such as 2020, these themes must be celebrated by one and all. We all need hope and reassurances about the beauty of life, even when it has been snatched away cruelly, right before our eyes. Think of the many who have recovered from the virus attack. Remember those who underwent near-death experiences, and yet did not succumb to death, but overcame – we must celebrate their lives. Of course, as well as the lives of those who have passed on. In moments such as these, moments of sorrow and great loss, perhaps, the only thing that can comfort us are these glib stories of heaven and afterlife. Often, the resurrection and ascension narratives of Jesus are used during these deathly times to encourage one another and find hope. Perhaps, there is a meaningful place for these stories of hope, even for a sceptic like me. These themes of victory over death, life and life eternal, are worthy of celebration, especially in this pandemic year filled with death, destruction and doom.
Christmas is a double celebration of life – it celebrates life in the birth of Jesus, like any birthday celebration, but also celebrates life that overcomes death and destruction through resurrection and ascension. Would we all not wish for the resurrection of our dead loved ones? What would we not give to ‘see again’ those who have left us? To touch, to feel, to eat with them again, to hear them talk – all these experiences that death takes away. The story of Jesus precisely shares these details in the life of Jesus with his disciples after his resurrection.
However, pandemic or not, celebrating Christmas in India has mostly been a low-key and quiet affair. Perhaps, it is because of our belief in karma and the cycle of births and re-births. Our belief that our atman will shed its mortal remains and take another life form, unless it has attained moksha and released itself from all lifeforms in order to be reunited with the Brahman – perhaps this dominant belief disrupts our celebration of life beyond death of the same life form.
And yet, if our individuated and personal atman entails in it the personality and memories of our life form, then, when we think of the afterlife, either in rebirth or in moksha, is it not this life form that we are most concerned about? Even in the story of the Mahabharata, was not Yudhisthra, visibly shaken and surprised to find the Kauravas feasting in the heavens and was he not worried about the eternal fate of his Pandava brothers and Dhraupadi? We find this story in the Svargarohana Parva or the Book of the Ascent to Heaven, which is the last of the eighteen books of the epic Mahabharata.
Therefore, although, we easily talk about karma and the cycle of rebirths, we are most concerned, like Yudhisthra, about our present life form and the present lifeforms of those who have passed on with death.If this be the case, then at this point, all of us in India, belonging to any religious or non-religious traditions, particularly belonging to the Hindu traditions, we can creatively appropriate the narratives of Jesus and celebrate ‘life’ this Christmas, especially in this pandemic year.
It is here that all of us in India can learn from our Naga brothers and sisters, with regard to how to celebrate Christmas. On a clear December night, not only is the sky above filled with stars, but the Kohima hills below too are filled with shining stars. It almost seems, the stars from the sky above have descended on these hills, to bring good tidings and share in the celebration. We have lit diyas during Diwali, let’s get some stars now for Christmas – reminding us of life, especially the hope of life after death.
On a cold December night, a few years back, on Christmas eve, I was driven around Dimapur, into the villages, to see and witness their celebrations. Many had not only lit up their entire villages with fairy lights and hung on homes and trees about a million stars, but had also set up the nativity scene – a visible representation of the birth of Jesus at the centre of the village. These visible representations brought alive the stories of life and made them more meaningful. Apart from the great food and the feasting, the beautiful singing of Christmas carols filled the air. These songs, celebrate the story of life from the narratives of Jesus. I think, a few carols will definitely help all of us, this year. We do need a bit of good cheer and glad tidings.
May I encourage our Christian brothers and Sisters in India to be bold and showcase these important themes of life and the defeat of death, this Christmas, through songs, pageants, and Christmas installations in their neighbourhoods, especially in public spaces, in the neighbourhoods and city centres. Perhaps, all of us, Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, Jains, and Sikhs, all of us, we will join in this glorious celebration of life and victory over death, this Christmas. We all need this Christmas celebration of life, especially during this Covid year.
Yes, let us celebrate life, even as we remember the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. Wishing you a blessed and joyful Christmas 2020.
