Just yesterday, we celebrated "Love in its fullness"-A God who became like us in order to show us the depth of His love. Yes, Christmas is a celebration of "God with us". We share in God's divinity as He shares in our humanity.
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| Rev Fr Dzungwe Simon Peter Sc |
Today the church reminds is that Christmas is a family celebration. A time for family reunification. A time to travel back to the Father.
Traditionally, Christmas is a season of sharing. The developed countries sometimes have the culture of decorating their homes and creating a space by the doorsteps where Santa Claus (father Christmas) goes around and drop boxes of gifts to families. Actually these boxes were dropped by neighbours, friends and well-wishers. These boxes and gifts were collected and opened by each family on the day after Christmas. That is why it's called boxing
day; the day of opening boxes of gifts.
This tradition of sharing gifts on this day and after Christmas finds its place in our African culture too. As children, our parents send us very early on Christmas days to go around the neighborhood to share 'special Christmas rice'. Parents and the entire families usually stay awake all night just to make sure their rice is the first to be eaten in the neighborhood. This was lovely. This was fun, and this was cultural and entertaining.
Because there was the Spirit of sharing there was peace. No one was hungry, at least not during Christmas season. Even those who could not afford rice or drinks or meat could have enough. Sometimes one could save the meat and drinks gotten from other families and eat for the next one month. Because there was spirit of sharing there was security too. No one was afraid of eating food from other homes.
But today what do we have in our societies? We have changed the atmosphere of Christmas. The Spirit of sharing has gone into extinction. We no longer eat the 'special Christmas rice' from neighbours, because if you want to, people no longer give.
Today, as we dine and wine in the name of Christmas, the majority of humanity is starving out there. The 'shepherds' of our Christmas today are being forgotten in the desert of hunger. Many are being consumed by the fire of poverty and destitution while others are drowning in the ocean of riches and wealth.
On this day, we are expected to be opening boxes of gifts my dear brothers and sisters.
We have to start giving people boxes of gifts to open and stop "boxing people".
Many are down today in our societies because the world is boxing them: they are box by wicked leadership, evil relations, fake friends, so many people.
*Contributed by Rev Fr Dzungwe Simon Peter Sc.
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