Recapturing the Authentic Message of Christmas

"Recapturing the authentic message of Christmas"
By Frank Hernando

Sermon delivered on Dec 25, 2011
Bicol Association Christmas celebration and Party at Capital Hotel, Itaewon, Seoul, Korea

Text: Luke 2: 1-20

1. Is it true that many of us Filipinos could hardly feel the spirit of Christmas in Korea? Perhaps it is becuase you could not hear Christmas songs played in many homes, there are not many Christmas decors elaborately displayed. For many their employers are not concerned about Christmas celebrations. It seems that Christmas is present only in shopping malls and parks.

2. Strangely enough the Christmas story in the Bible is not even in the historical records of the Roman empire and very little fragments perhaps in Palestine's history.
But as people of faith, we know that the birthday of Jesus is a historical fact. 

3. The news of the birth of Jesus was told by an angel to the shepherds. Why is it important to tell the goodnews to the shepherds and not to the powerful people, like Augustus Ceasar or governor Quirinius or to the traders, lawyers, and other intellectuals? There must be something special about the shepherds. I think it is the shepherds' faith that a new social order will come wherein they will have a decent and peaceful life.

4. We are migrant workers in South Korea and are located in the lowest stratum of the social ladder. We are ordinary people but like the shepherds abiding in the fields watching over their flocks at night, the goodnews of God's liberation is preached to us. The baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger is the Prince of Peace. That means that Jesus came to bring justice to the poor and the oppressed for justice is a basic ingredient of peace.

5. God decided to incarnate in the midst of the oppressed people. They who have nothing much in terms of power, wealth, influence, are those whom God choses because of their need for a Savior who would give them liberation from from their hopelessness and from their oppressors.

6. Christmas in its true meaning is not about good food, nor about new clothes nor about gifts. It is telling about the salvation that God has given those who are oppressed and poor and marginalized. It is reliving the true meaning of the biblical story of the birth of a fragile baby born of a peasant girl and a subsistence carpenter.

7. Salvation or kaligtasan of the whole of life both human and environmetal salvation which includes the social, poltical, economic and cultural life is the message of Christmas. This means that God intends justice or katarungan and includes a decent life that can only be possible in the just sharing of resources.

8. Jesus challenged the dominant powers of his time. His responsibility to realize the reign of peace and love and compassion was announced by the angel at his birth, he is the Prine of Peace. We Christians are peacemakers and justice makers. We share in the sorrows and sufferings of our people affected by the wrath of Typhoon Sendong in Mindanao. Our help will support many who lost their homes and need food and other basic necessities. Let us include them in our prayers.

9. It is therefore important that we take upon ourselves the message of salvation that was first told to the shepherds on that very night Jesus was born. As migrant workers we are challenged to participate in God's purpose for just and abundant life for the suffering people.

10. We are the bearers of the goodnews of freedom for the oppressed in society. Our faith in the God in human form in the person of Jesus is the confirmation of God's will for the transformation of human relationships in our world today. Amen.

Merry Christmas to all!