CHRISTMAS
The Hope (Ijebu-Ode Anglican Diocese, ed. Prof. Segun Odunuga), 1996
The story of Christ's birth is told in different ways. In the Gospels Matthew and Luke have rather full narrative accounts, while John takes a theological perspective. Outside the Bible, the Qur'ân has its own story, which bears considerable resemblance to the Gospels, with some important differences. Let us meditate on each:
Christmas according to John
In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God... 1:1
And the Word became flesh
and dwelt among us. 1:14
On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee. 2:1"Do you, Word of God, take this flesh from the Virgin Mary to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, in good times and in bad, till death do us part, and risen after three days never to depart for eternity?" "I do."
Yes, the incarnation is like a wedding. Jesus' divine and human natures truly became "one flesh" or one person.
The wedding theme widens when Jesus, "the Lamb" becomes the bridegroom of the Church (Rev. 19:5-9; cf. Eph. 5:25-32). We are all invited to that wedding, not as spectators but as members of the kingdom or Church (Luke 14:15-24). We do not become one person with God, as Jesus is, but we do become the tent or temple he dwells in, and we are called "to share the divine nature" (2 Peter 1:4).
Christmas according to Luke
Now it happened that, while they were there,
the time came for her to have her child,
and she gave birth to a son, her first born.
She wrapped him in swaddling clothes
and laid him in a manger
because there was no room for them in the house. 2:6-7
And all at once with the angel there was a great throng of the hosts of heaven,
praising God with the words:
Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace for those he favours. 2:13-14The house, we may presume, belonged to Joseph or his family, since it was in Bethlehem, his home town. The crowd in the main room forced Mary to find tranquillity in the manger attached to the house. There we find the child: small, vulnerable, at the mercy of its parents and other people.
But the divine power protecting the child was seen in the choirs of angels calling the shepherds and praising God.
Christmas according to the Qur'ân
[Mary] said [to Gabriel]: "How can I have a child,
since no man has touched me
and I am not a prostitute?"
He answered, "That is no problem, since your Lord said:
It is simple for me.
Let us make him a sign of mercy from us to mankind.
The matter is concluded.
So she conceived and went off pregnant to a far-away place.
Birth pains came on her at the foot of a palm tree and she said:
"Would that I had died earlier and was completely forgotten!"
But [the child] at her feet addressed her:
"Do not be sad... 19:20-24
I am the servant of God...
Peace on me the day I was born, the day I die and the day I am risen alive."
That is Jesus, Son of Mary, the Utterance of [God] the Truth. 19:30,33-34The Qur'ânic story of Jesus is, in Christian judgement, a re-working of oral traditions circulating among the Arabs that derive ultimately from the Gospel accounts and from apocryphal literature. Some of it is accurate, some fanciful. In spite of its lack of canonical authority and its variation from the Gospel accounts, it bears witness to some basic truths about Jesus.
Like Luke, the passage expresses Jesus' birth in circumstances of poverty and rejection. At the same time it brings in an encouraging heavenly voice, not of angels but of the infant himself miraculously speaking.
The passage concludes with an echo of John, that Jesus is the Word of God. The terms used here are qawl ("something said", "utterance", "word") and al-Haqq ("the Truth"), a Qur'ânic title of God. Elsewhere we read: "God announces to you a Word (kalima) from him, whose name is the Messiah, Jesus, Son of Mary (3:45)". "The Messiah is Jesus, Son of Mary, the Messenger of God and his Word" (4:171).
Although the Qur'ân formally denies the divinity of Jesus (4:171; 5:17,72-75,116; 6:101; 9:30; 10:68; 19:35,88; 43:59; 72:3; 112:4), the passages we have seen proclaim his divinity all too obviously to anyone familiar with the implications of the terminology. Even Muhammad was forced to say: "Say, 'If the Merciful One had a son, I would be the first to worship him'" (43:81).
In any case, Jesus is a "sign of mercy to mankind." Compare 21:90: "We made her and her son a sign for the world." These phrases point to a universal mission of Jesus, a mission of God's mercy. How? The Qur'ân does not explain. Yet the word "sign" indicates something wondrous, something pointing to the power of God. It also points to the mercy he means to effect among men, and in this way the "sign" becomes a sacrament or instrument of God's mercy. Jesus should be involved whenever God shows mercy, as echoed in the prayer: "Lord, forgive and show mercy, for you are the best at showing mercy" (23:118).
Conclusion
Let us pray to Jesus,
Son of Mary the Virgin,
conceived without a human father
through the power of the Holy Spirit,
God the Most High:
You loved your Mother, the most happy of women,
who shared your heart's sufferings and joys.
Let her stay close to us as she did to John.(Cf. Is 7:14; Lk 1:26-38; Mk 6:3; Jn 19:26-27)