Editorial | For goodwill and peace among all men

It is not an infrequent temptation to despair about life in Jamaica, bombarded, as we are, by the stratospheric level of homicides and other crimes, social disorder and the absence of a big economic breakthrough that manifests itself in the visible poverty among significant swathes of the population.

Usually, however, a counterbalance prevents acquiescence to pessimism and fear. It is often about the extraordinary capacities of the Jamaican people, underpinned by their generosity of spirit, that is particularly evident at this time of the year – Christmas. It’s an embrace of the larger idea of what is being celebrated today.

Beyond the commercial aspects of the festivities, or the historic provenance of the occasion, Christmas represents the most profound event in Christianity, the birth of Jesus Christ and, with it, the declaration of God’s redemptive love and His promise into the future.

For, as the angel announced in Luke 2:11: “Unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a saviour who is Christ the Lord.” Later, the disciple John reminded that “God so loved the world, that he gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

Herein is the message of selflessness and of giving that so epitomises the Christmas celebration. It affords an opportunity, if only for a time, to transcend ourselves, and embrace, though imperfectly, God’s promise of unrequited love among our friends, family and even strangers.

POWERFUL REMINDER

Even without its religious context, as the beginning of the Christian’s promise of, and route to, eternal salvation, there is something universal about the idea of Christmas and how it is celebrated. The acts of giving and sharing acknowledge, and elevate, our essential humanity. We are, because others are, too.

In the midst of the difficulties of our Jamaican existence, we sometimes presume that that sense of community is lost in Jamaica. But it persists, manifested daily in a multitude of actions by individuals and groups, aimed at making the lives of others better.

Christmas is a powerful reminder that while we must do vastly better, the unity of community and of acknowledging each other’s humanity are not only of this country and of why the urging of “peace on earth and goodwill to all men” should resonate with all us.