Christians all round the world will be celebrating Christmas in the most difficult of contexts.
The year 2025 has been a challenging one on the global scale where there are a lot of uncertainties in the economic realm. A tariff war us in process, affecting the flow of trade, and the supply chain.
In the global political realm, there seems to be a failure of diplomacy. Might is right as a policy is dictating conflicts since the election of President Donald Trump to the White House.
This is causing war and destruction in collaboration with his ally Israel, creating immense suffering to communities in Palestine, Lebanon and Syria.
People who are immigrants in the United States are going through immense insecurity. The authorities tend to deport them without due process, even though they have been loyal and peaceful residents of the country.
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The policy of might is right is clearly visible when due processes are ignored.
The Russian–Ukraine war seems to follow the doctrine of might is right. It began in different circumstances where diplomacy of hearing the legitimate security concerns of the other was neglected.
It is the ordinary people of Ukraine who suffer from this unjust war due to the concept of might being right.
What is obvious from these circumstances is that leaders around the world are preoccupied with self-preservation. This takes the form of expanding colonialism, nationalism and economic self-preservation at the expense of ‘the other’, believing in the exceptionalism of might is right.
International law that tends to promote the common good is ignored.
Institutions such as the UN, which has various agencies that produce independent reports on war crimes, have been ignored. The International Criminal Court, which is responsible for undertaking cases that violate collective human dignity and rights, has been trampled upon.
It is in this context that the Christmas message of peace is relevant. Peace is not built on human self-ego and preservation at the expense of ‘the other’. Peace is a call to transcend one’s ego, whether at the personal, societal, national or global level. It calls us to focus on the direction of the star where Jesus is born.
The birth of Jesus did not take place in high places of luxury and pomp. It took place in a humble stable, a place used for the shelter of animals. Here ordinary life took place, and the reality of oppression by the local landlords in Palestine and the Roman Empire was real.
The message of Christmas is that peace can only be found outside one’s ego and preoccupation with self-made plans. This means reaching to the Divine whose wisdom is contrary to the self-preservation of worldly values that salutes might and power.
It is about finding wisdom from God, who is willing to be embodied in ordinary circumstances and bring healing and reconciliation to suffering people.
World leaders need wisdom from the Divine to understand the world from the perspective of Truth and Justice.
Hopefully, the message of Christmas, which points to the divine through the humble birth of Jesus, will inspire world leaders to seek peace by rejecting the concept of might is right.
AGENDA RAKYAT - Lima perkara utama
- Tegakkan maruah serta kualiti kehidupan rakyat
- Galakkan pembangunan saksama, lestari serta tangani krisis alam sekitar
- Raikan kerencaman dan keterangkuman
- Selamatkan demokrasi dan angkatkan keluhuran undang-undang
- Lawan rasuah dan kronisme
