Contemplative, joyful and familiar
Judging by his face, Noam Funk (front far right) was most excited about Christmas. He was beaming like the sunlight streaming through the colorful church windows. 80 adults and children sat in the worship room and celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ. Lena Zeier (in the front row on the left) led the service.
The sermon was given by general surgeon Dr. Lukas Steffen. If he didn’t take Jesus’ rescue mission at face value, he wouldn’t be in Curahuasi. His drug addiction would probably have killed him many years ago. But during a time-out in the Philippines, he had an encounter with the child in the manger, the crucified Christ and the risen Lord.
The Christmas story was read by Dr. Martina John. As a teenager, she accompanied her parents to the Christmas service once a year. Faith had no relevance for her at that time. But as an 18-year-old, she entrusted her life to the one who can give every life a deeper meaning. She still remembers the joy that her decision for Jesus Christ 45 years ago brought her. Before that, she had spent weeks in hospital after a serious riding accident and for the first time really thought about life.
We could talk ad nauseam about the celebration of peace, about the deeper meaning of the crib and the star. We could meditate on social justice and religious sentiment and still miss the point of the Christmas message entirely. Jesus came to redeem humanity and eliminate the problem of death. He died on the cross – as he himself put it – as a ransom for many. Thousands and thousands of Christians lost their lives for this conviction in the Roman Colloseum, in Soviet gulags and Chinese prison camps. Christmas is not for sissies.
It radically challenges us to take following Jesus Christ seriously. This is how we Diospi Suyana employees worship the one who was announced by Isaiah a good 700 years before his birth with the following words: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be Wonderful Counselor, God-hero, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace!”
