Why Christmas Is `Good Governance Day'
Aniu K Kevichusa
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In 2014, the government of India declared December 25 as `Good Governance Day' to mark and honour the birthday of the former prime minister of India, Atal Bihari Vajpayee. That day is also Christmas Day , the birthday of Jesus Christ.There is an aptness to that decision and declaration. Writing around 700 BC, a prophet in the Bible, called Isaiah, predicted the birth of Jesus Christ thus: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called wonderful counsellor, mighty God, everlasting father, Prince of Peace.“ (Isaiah 9:6) This little verse encapsulates the identity , the responsibility, and the authority of the Christ of Christmas.Who is Jesus Christ? In response to that question, this verse talks about his humanity , divinity and royalty. The birth of the child refers to Christ's humanity . Jesus Christ was fully human, born like other humans. He was born as a human, experiencing the experiences including, the mad, bad and the sad that we all experience. If the verse refers to Christ's humanity, it also refers to his divinity. Although the child was born, the son was not; the son was given. This is so because Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, whose eternal identity is that of divinity. Jesus Christ was not a man who became God. He was God who became a man. He was not just another human being sharing the experiences of humankind. He was God entering and experiencing human life in all its glory and gore.
The verse is also a jubilant annuncia tion of the birth of a long-awaited heir to a throne. It is the proclamation of a town crier, heralding the birth of the King. With Christmas, the administrator of the world has come, and “the government shall be upon his shoulder“.
The names of Christ also reveal the various facets of his role and his rule. He is called “wonderful counsellor“. This means that the birth of Christ marks the end of confusion, and the possibility of wise living. As “mighty God“, Christ is the final and ultimate revelation of the reality and nature of God. As “everlasting father“, Christ's role is to guard, to guide and to provide. And he is the “Prince of Peace“, born to usher in true peace peace in the right order; peace in the fullest sense. As Christian mystic Thomas Merton says, “Man is not at peace with his fellow man because he is not at peace with himself. And he is not at peace with himself because he is not at peace with God.“
No confusion and chaos wonderful counsellor; no comparison and competition mighty God; no contention and conflict Prince of Peace; but compassion and comfort everlasting father. This is the nature of the Government of Christ.
Christ's Government is also upheld “with justice and with righteousness“, and “of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end“ (Isaiah 9:7). It is, in other words, a government without corruption and without cessation. How appropriate indeed that Christmas Day has now been declared as `Good Governance Day'!
The verse is also a jubilant annuncia tion of the birth of a long-awaited heir to a throne. It is the proclamation of a town crier, heralding the birth of the King. With Christmas, the administrator of the world has come, and “the government shall be upon his shoulder“.
The names of Christ also reveal the various facets of his role and his rule. He is called “wonderful counsellor“. This means that the birth of Christ marks the end of confusion, and the possibility of wise living. As “mighty God“, Christ is the final and ultimate revelation of the reality and nature of God. As “everlasting father“, Christ's role is to guard, to guide and to provide. And he is the “Prince of Peace“, born to usher in true peace peace in the right order; peace in the fullest sense. As Christian mystic Thomas Merton says, “Man is not at peace with his fellow man because he is not at peace with himself. And he is not at peace with himself because he is not at peace with God.“
No confusion and chaos wonderful counsellor; no comparison and competition mighty God; no contention and conflict Prince of Peace; but compassion and comfort everlasting father. This is the nature of the Government of Christ.
Christ's Government is also upheld “with justice and with righteousness“, and “of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end“ (Isaiah 9:7). It is, in other words, a government without corruption and without cessation. How appropriate indeed that Christmas Day has now been declared as `Good Governance Day'!
