SUNDAY SERMON - The Christmas season is here again with us. All people feel different during Christmas because of the enormous effect it has on human feelings and attitudes. It is not just because Jesus was purportedly born on Christmas Day that we have such feelings, but I believe it is because of the inherent goodness that God created in us, in spite of whether we believe in Him or not. In the Gospel of Mark 12: 29 – 31 Jesus is talking to a scribe who was actually testing him. He had asked Jesus “What was the greatest commandment?” So Jesus answered “The most important one (commandment) is this: Hear oh, Israel , the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with your entire mind and with all your strength. The second is: Love your neighbour as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.” While the first one was given to the children of Israel, the second one is given to all people. The way Jesus put it is like it is not possible to love God, if you do not love your neighbour. While loving God is rather easy since it never puts any demands on us, loving our neighbours is one of the hardest things to do. You can choose your friends, but you cannot choose your neighbours, so the saying goes. Your neighbours may be poor people such that they cannot afford the basics of life. They may lack food, clothing, housing, medicines and education. Your neighbours may be those that have so many young children, always making too much noise and straying all over the place. Your neighbour may be an old-fashioned male chauvinist who wakes up in the middle of the night to discipline his wife, or children. Yet, Jesus says, love your neighbour as yourself. When you talk of a neighbour, you open a Pandora’s Box because we get neighbours from all walks of life. I know a rich politician who did not like the type of neighbours he had. They were poor and had grass-thatched houses, which he loathed so much. One day he bought iron sheets and freely distributed them to the neighbours and in the process, lectured to them about the importance of replacing the grass thatches on their roofs with iron sheets. He told them how he found it shameful whenever his visitors came to see him and they had to see the sorry sight of grass thatched roofs. Everywhere we turn to we find society coming up with propaganda that tells us how we are supposed to relate to this group, or that other group. Evils like prejudice, intolerance, bias, classism, sexism, and character assassination are sometimes glorified in some groups of people. It is easy to make a list of the people we do not love, and end up rationalizing why we despise them. How difficult it is to keep the greatest commandment that Jesus gave his disciples! During this Christmas season, I would like to urge us to show love to our neighbours. Do not do things which might embarrass them, or get them out of the way. Do not send them expensive and sophisticated gifts they do not need and would only expose their pitiful conditions. Do not require them to work for you to qualify for some handout, and then call it love. It is your right to celebrate the birth of Jesus which took place over two thousand years ago. But the birth of Jesus is actually a historical fact and it is impossible to improve on it. You cannot improve on history because history will stay the way it was forever. However, the joy you have in your hearts should be practically translated into acts of love for your neighbours. The joy of the festive season can only be seen in loving other people and showing it physically. Words mean a lot; more so, words of love have defining effect on people. Words like “We love you, and your family” or, “We love you and have been praying for you” or, “We wish you a happy Christmas season this year” But, actions speak louder than words. While you shower them with words of love, take some love gifts to them as well. Take some decent, new clothing to their children; take some ‘kitenge’ or ‘lesso’ to the neighbours wives; take some new shirt or trouser to the man. Invite the whole family to your house to share in the joy and warmth of the season Prepare meals and entertainment that include all the people, adults, teenagers and the children, as you avoid showing-off your worldly possessions and social class. At the end of it all, pray together and wish each family a happy new year. Do not include alcohol consumption during the Christmas festivities because alcohol is a double-edged sword; it lifts up people only to let them down; it gives the urge only to take away the performance; It delights only to delete the memory immediately. I want to thank all my readers this year, “Have a wonderful Christmas and the best in the New Year.” God bless you all. Ends
