God created the world to be a cosmos. A world for all to live together in unity, harmony, fellowship, community, and peace. We see this through the life and ministry of Moses, Joseph, David, and Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
God called Moses to lead God’s people, Israel, out of bondage in Egypt to the promised land. Here, despite what Moses did, the focus is not on him but on the will of God to deliver God’s people from that terrible experience under Pharoah and the Egyptians.
In the story of Joseph in the book of Genesis, he was despised by his brothers and sold to Midianites who took him to Egypt, where he found favour in Pharoah’s sight that he made him overseer of his house and over all that he had, and the fact that Joseph was able to interpret dreams is not so much about Joseph; it is about God’s ability and desire to provide for the people of Israel and other peoples during the famine. It emphasizes God’s concern for the whole community.
King David’s prowess and outstanding leadership as King of Israel is not so much about David but God’s care for the well-being and protection of God’s people.
This desire and concern of God for the whole, for all to live together in unity, harmony, fellowship, community, and peace, is central to the Christmas message. Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judah. Jesus came to save the world, not one person or a few, but to redeem and save all.
As we celebrate the birth of the Christ child, it cannot be simply me and my Jesus. Yes, God loves us all as persons, and at the same time, God does not call us to live in isolation but in unity, harmony, fellowship, community, and peace. In St. Vincent and the Grenadines, our Calypso Monarch 2023, Lorna Nedd, “Fya Empress,” in the song that took her to the crown, reminded us that “It takes a village to raise a child.” Calypsonian Glenroy Caesar, “Sulle,” who took the third position, in his song entitled “We Outside,” pointed out how unhealthy it is for us to be concerned with our self-interest at the expense of the whole, the community and to be wary of those who perpetuate such practices and ideas and he invited us to pool our resources and to work together for the advancement of all, our community and nation.
So, the question is not simply what hairstyle a child/student should be allowed to go to school with, neither is it merely whether we do or do not accept gays, lesbians, and transgender lifestyles, nor whether we are to allow people to do whatever pleases them. Neither is it merely that we are to incarcerate or imprison the perpetrators of Crime and gun violence. Our focus ought to be on how we, as we grapple with these issues, reflect the desire and concern of God for the whole, for all, and live together in unity, harmony, fellowship, community, and peace.
The birth of Jesus, the Christ Child is a message of hope amid our present circumstances and through all the changing scenes of life.
I take this opportunity on behalf of my wife Lois, and three daughters, Marcella, Malaika and Mikayla to wish you a Blessed and Holy Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Your friend and Bishop
The Rt. Rev’d C. Leopold Friday
Bishop of the Windward Islands
