Dr Asangba Tzudir
The Spanish flu broke out in 1918 February and continued till April 1920 affecting about 500 million people and took about 50 million lives. After about 100 years such a pandemic in the form of COVID-19 has haunted the people world over creating panic, untold hardships and suffering along with the loss of about 1.7 million lives currently.
This year has been a year dedicated to Corona with hope and feelings that this pandemic will not carry bag and baggage into the coming New Year. All through the year almost all normal activities were disrupted and the most painful of all being most religious institutions and Churches yet to open up especially for Christians with Christmas just a couple of days away. However, though Churches have remained closed they have done their part of evangelism throughout the year sharing the word of God through various forms of media especially during usual Church timings. For a lot of Churches it will be an online Christmas and New Year. As such it will be a different festive season and a painful one unless the real meaning of Christmas is recreated.
It may seem like the religious fervor and joy of Christmas will be missed without the Church services and Christmas will be reduced to Christmas decorations, clothes, pork, cakes and music. Be it during Christmas or any other time for many Christians especially the regular Church goers it will feel empty and incomplete. Many may also recreate Church in their place through fasting and prayer, however that also do not capture the true meaning and essence of Church worship.
The thirst to worship inside the Church has in many ways presented as a ‘litmus test’ for the Christian community in this Corona pandemic, and for those who have really longed for the Church testifies the Love of God and the presence of the Lord in them. On the contrary, there are Christians who say that the presence of the Lord in them is enough. However, the foundation of this belief requires re-thinking. That, there is always a ‘what if.’ What if the heart and mind is also deceived into believing that it is the God the resides in the heart, or what if the God that one professes to be in ones heart is not in the heart but in some other parts of the body. Or what if the God is in your stomach and God being made your stomach. Apostle Paul has written in Philippians 3:19 (NIV) “their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things.”
As the bible has said that a time will come when one cannot go to Church even if one wants to, such are the times. In context of the times, how does one celebrate Christmas without a service inside the Church? Baby Jesus Christ was never born in the Church and baby Jesus is not there but searching for a place in our hearts. It is a question of whether we allow Jesus to be born in our hearts. There lies the real essence of Christmas. Further, hope, peace, love, joy and happiness are words that completes the Christmas season. And if our hearts truly have Jesus in our hearts, it means that we have hope, peace, love, joy and happiness in our hearts. Going to Church without really letting Jesus in our hearts amounts to nothing but a symbolic Christmas.
It will be a different Christmas but for sure there will be a difference between those who let Jesus into their hearts, and those who lets Jesus into their ‘stomach.’ May Jesus find a place in our hearts and share the hope, peace, love, joy and happiness that comes from Jesus among others. With all good wishes, may we all have a meaningful Christmas.
(Dr Asangba Tzudir contributes a weekly guest editorial to the Morung Express. Comments can be emailed to asangtz@gmail.com)
