Thursday, 15th


December 2016


info@eastcorkjournal.ie East Cork Business Post Christmas Festivities and a Life to be Celebrated


by DR ROSARII GRIFFIN


“Hark! the Herald An-


gels sing, glory to the new born King”. We are cele- brating the birth of Jesus Christ soon. The 25th


of


December is the date that Christianity celebrates the birthday and feast day of its founder and saviour. That date was assigned to denote when the most unlikely person to be con- sidered king of the people was born. A poor, impov- erished baby boy, born to a peasant woman, with a


step-father carpenter.


This unlikely regal candi- date was born in a man- ger, in a stable amongst animals and straw, swad- dled in cloth to keep him warm. He was to be- come the ‘Emmanuel’, as prophesised in the Old Testament. One suppos- edly greater than any of


the Greats that came


before, including the Jewish Prophets Moses, Abraham, even John the Baptist. And along comes Jesus, born a Jew in Beth- lehem, Judaea. And here we are, 2000 years later, still celebrating his birth- day. ‘A most unlikely sav- iour indeed!’ you might be forgiven for thinking! When you think about


recent heroes, you might think of Mother Teresa, or Nelson Mandela, or going back further, Martin Luther King, Mahatma Ghandi or even further in history, George Washing- ton, Henry VIII, Welling- ton, Brian Boru, Joan of Arc, Michaelangelo, Con- stantinople, Galileo, Cleo- patra, Julius Caesar, Aris- totle or Plato. (And there are anti-heroes as well, such as Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Nero, etc.). All sig- nificant historical figures that probably irreversibly changed the course of his-


tory in one way or anoth- er, either through thought, deed or word. These were indeed significant histor- ical figures. But will they be remembered in 2000 years? While they will undoubtedly have


taken


their place in the annals of history, but how signif- icant will they be thought of in 2000 years time? (If indeed the world as we know it will exist then). It is difficult to believe that someone like Jesus, born in such


circumstances,


would come to influence the world in such a way as to have followers in almost every continent and coun- try of the world? Is this an incredible legacy or what? When you consider it


more closely, Jesus him- self did not start out on his mission in life until he was about the age of 30. Now, some people joke, he must have been Irish, as a lot of Irish men don’t like to leave the family nest too soon, but jokes aside, it is rather remarkable, that


this individual, who


trained as a carpenter by Joseph’s side, did not launch his own ‘career’ until he was 30. Prior to this, there was little indi- cation of his uniqueness. Apart from the time when he was 12 and found in the Temple impressing the Elders with his knowledge and wisdom. And also, when Mary tried to get him to spread his wings and fly the nest with the Wedding of Cana, when he eventually performed the miracle of the chang- ing of water into wine. On that occasion, he obliged his mother, though an- noyed at being nudged to leave the nest when he did not feel ready to do so. I guess if he had any idea of what was to come, you or I wouldn’t be so keen to leave the comfort and safety of the nest either! And then when he did preaching, he be-


start gan attracting followers, @eastcorkjournal / #eastcorkjournal


and converting people to a new way of thinking, a new way of being, a new way of living. What strikes me about


the story of


Jesus is his compassion. Of course, someone with such humble origins you would imagine couldn’t necessarily be but any- thing else. Nonetheless, his empathy, understand- ing and compassion for the human condition is more


than striking. His


sermons appeared to have struck a chord with his listeners. Miracles or not, his listeners all ap- peared to be ‘moved by the spirit’. In other words, those who had the good fortune to hear him must have


intuitively that


known or sensed there was


something extra special, even divine, about this man. He was no ordinary person. He was different in every way. He was chal- lenging, wise, understand- ing. People


instinctively


recognised, understood and felt or experienced his greatness, even if they did not fully understand the significance of his being, or what he would repre- sent eventually for people all around the world for centuries to come. Now, I don’t want to


pretend for a second that Jesus had the monopoly on spiritualism around the world. Other amaz- ing people


including the


to accept or acknowledge the existence of a Higher Power, a Universal Being, or a God-like-figure and the need for a spiritual life of sorts. Of course, Dar- winists or atheists such as Richard Dawkins, or agnostics like


Stephen


Hawkins, or indeed oth- er secularist philosophers might beg to disagree. And they too have their reasons, and have strong arguments for same. De- spite this, a good portion of the world chose to be- lieve in a faith, or ideology of sorts. One could argue that secularism is also a form of dogma! As I see it, it is an acci-


dent of birth or a product of one’s environment as to which religion or faith one will most likely be. For instance, being born in Ireland will increase your chance of becoming a Catholic. In England, you would most likely be Protestant, and if you were born in Saudi Ara- bia, you would most likely become a Muslim. If you were born in the USA, or France, while


there is a


separation of Church and State, you will still most likely be the faith of your parents, or none at all, as the case may be. But returning to Jesus.


existed too, Prophet


Mohammed, Buddha and those who follow the Hindu faith. Across Asia, you have Confucianism. In Africa and other con- tinents, you have


tribal


religions and faiths (prior to vast areas of land and countries colonised by either Muslims or Chris- tians and have since taken on Islam or Christianity as their core faith). But whatever the


religion,


or faith, it is true to say that


there appears to be


a predisposition in ‘ho- mo-sapiens’ that appears


eastcorkjournal


He had some other out- standing qualities which singled him out as an ex- traordinary


individual,


or as Christians believe, a Divine individual. He was clearly great preacher with the power to convert huge audiences, capturing their spirits, hearts and imagination. He was, in fact, a wonderful healer. During his lifetime, he performed many miracles to prove to those who did not believe in his divinity, and these are recorded in the Bible. Despite the fact that he was probably the world’s greatest preacher, he never wrote a single word. (Apart from some unintelligible drawing in


the sand when challeng- ing the Elders one day.) And despite this, the Bi- ble is the world’s best selling book of all time. The Bible itself is made up of the Old and New Testaments. The Old Tes- tament derives from the Jewish Torah and the New Testament is consists pri- marily of the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) each giving tes- timony about the life of Jesus. Between these four Gospels, there are lots of similar accounts about the life of Jesus. But there are also some discrep- ancies between the four accounts. This has kept Philosophers and Theo- logians busy for centuries, teasing out and debating the various arguments, highlighting key doctrines, and conducting councils and symposiums on doc- trinal points of interest, or even departure, within scripture. Excitingly, some Dead Sea Scrolls were


found


(written mostly in Hebrew around the third centu- ry BC) along with oth- er manuscripts (written in Aramaic and Greek). Most of the discovered Hebrew scrolls part


formed of the Old Testa-


ment rather than the New Testament. Yet, scholars know that, for instance, the Old Testament Book of Esther is missing. There may in fact be more scrolls to be discovered. Scholars also believe there is an additional


gospel about


the life of Christ yet to be found (called ‘Q’). Now that would be interesting! Maybe, in the fullness of time, new light will be shed on the Bible and events around that time. But returning to what


we know about the story of Jesus and Christmas, and the enduring legacy created and left by this ex- traordinary man. Advent is celebrated at the begin- ning of December, mark-


ing the start of the Chris- tian New Year. Christmas marks the


birthday of


Jesus Christ. Later on in the Christian calendar (Easter), he dies in spec- tacular fashion. Then, according to Christian doctrine, he rises from the dead and in so doing, ful- fils the terms and condi- tions of his contract with God - to redeem the hu- man race, redressing the misdeeds of Adam (sym- bolic of humans’ betrayal of God’s trust). This is (as I understand it) the Chris- tian belief underpinning Christian faith. But I am no theologian. This is just merely my lay-under- standing of what appears to be quite a complex tale of great sorrow, tragedy, joy and greatness all in equal measure. But the Christian story has all the intrigue of a great novel, except based on reported true events, beginning with the birth of Jesus. Setting the con- text, the


Bible begins


with the Old Testament focusing predominantly on God’s commandments and retribution at peoples’ disobedience. The


Old


Covenant established by God through Moses and his people, was broken by people’s persistent dis- obedience. Consequent- ly, man fell out of favour with God (and vice ver- sa). Then the Bible pro- gresses onto the New Tes- tament. Jesus takes centre stage and has been given the difficult task of rec- reating a New Covenant between God and man. Jesus was, in modern-day parlance, a tragic hero who swam against


the


tide. Jesus spent a lot of his life speaking ‘truth to power’ and was outwardly critical of the status quo of the day. He openly crit- icised those purporting to be of God, but who in fact were making a mockery of Moses’s teachings. Je- sus, though his command-


ments, brought about a new understanding (or covenant) about what


it


means to be a follower of God. He spoke with compassion, empathy and understanding for the hu- man condition. He spoke about love, charity and forgiveness (concepts not always prominent in the Old Testament). For this, Jesus was condemned as a rebel, a revolutionary figure who defied and threatened the establish- ment, and with it, the lives and livelihoods of the rich and influential. Jesus was despised by the Pharisees and Elders. Out of fear, they prosecuted him. He was betrayed by one dear- est


to him, while others


deserted and denied him. For this, Jesus paid the ultimate


price most


life, crucified on a cross in the


in


with his grotesque,


barbaric and inhumane way. Not, however, an un- common punishment


those days. Yet, Jesus dies a tragic hero, coming to save souls, sacrificing his own life in the pursuit of this, and in doing so, fulfils the prophesies and creates a New Covenant between man and God. For centuries, people


have pondered on the Je- sus story, and wondered about


the passage of its biblical mes-


sages, and how it can be relevant to our times. But, despite


time, and the different age we live in, the Bible’s mes- sages are still as relevant today as ever. People will always be human. The seven deadly sins and the seven heavenly virtues will always be there. For now, on December 25th


, we


are celebrating the birth of Christianity with the birth-day of Jesus Christ. ‘Hark! The Herald an- gels sing, glory to the new born King’. Happy Christmas to one and all! Contact: Rosarii at info@ eastcorkjournal.ie or @ rosarii_griffin


Tel: 021 463 8000 • Email: info@eastcorkjournal.ie • Web: www.eastcorkjournal.ie


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