Christmas and Prejudice

 We are entering the Christmas season, for many a season for fairies, elves and fantasy.  But the Christmas of history is much more than that.  It is full of undercurrents that speak to issues we face daily.  Increasingly we must deal with prejudice, suspicion, resentment that is often fueled by politicians. These issues are intertwined with the Christmas story and the life of Jesus.

 The presence of the Magi at Bethlehem is not an afterthought.  They are integral to the larger purposes of God at the nativity.  They represent the fulfillment of prophecy that the newborn babe was sent, “at the fulness of time,” for all peoples. Isaiah wrote: “I will appoint You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the nations, to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the dungeon and those who dwell in darkness from the prison,” (Isaiah 42:6-7).

 The record of Herod’s slaughter of Bethlehem’s male children two years and younger reminds us that rulers have always found a way to inflict violence on the innocent.  Jesus was spared only because Joseph, warned in a dream, took his wife and child to Egypt.  They became refugees seeking safety like the Somalians and many others who seek safety in the United States.

 Jesus’ family returned to Nazareth when the danger dissipated with Herod’s death.  It was there that Jesus matured into manhood.  After launching his public ministry those who had known him as a young adult rejected him.  “ Is this not the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are His sisters not here with us?” And they took offense at Him,” (Mark 6:3). 

  Their offense was heightened when he attacked their prejudice, reminding them that Elijah ministered to a Sidonian widow rather than an Israelite, and that Elisha did not heal lepers in Israel, but Naaman, a Syrian.  As a result, Luke says “ they got up and drove Him out of the city, and brought Him to the crest of the hill on which their city had been built, so that they could throw Him down from the cliff. But He passed through their midst and went on His way,” (Luke 4:29-30).

 He ate with tax collectors and prostitutes, made friends with Samaritans, healed the servant of a Roman centurion.  In Jerusalem the religious leaders were incensed because Jesus violated their prejudices and undercut their traditions. Consequently, they crucified him.

 We want to reject those who are not like us.  We are threatened by those who hold different beliefs, speak different languages, observe different customs.  We must always be on guard for the dark shadow of prejudice that stalks us all.  Jesus taught us to embrace all people of every nationality and every ethnicity.  During this Christmas season, and any season, we must not dismiss anyone as “garbage.”

Tinsley's novel, Bold Springs, is free on Amazon eBook Dec. 9-13.  Reader's Favorite chose it as Best Christian Historical Fiction, 2022.