To Bethlehem, To Bethlehem!” eagerly extols author Jostein Gaarder’s wooly lamb in the holiday must-read The Christmas Mystery, leading its entourage and us to travel back through time and space to the day Jesus Christ was born. Despite its growing cast of sheep, shepherds, wisemen and the usual manger suspects, this charming tale begins with a boy named Joachim and his Advent calendar that he bought in a little bookstore.
The Advent calendar is a countdown calendar from Dec. 1 to Christmas Eve. Its novelty is that each day on the calendar is covered and underneath is a surprise to be opened on that date. In this Christmas mystery, Joachim’s gift unravels a scrap of paper and an icon with a story about a toy lamb who comes to life “because it can’t bear listening to to the cash register and the talk of buying and selling.” Soon, a little girl named Elisabet runs after the lamb and finds herself jumping backwards through time towards Bethlehem. In this journey, she passes through important people, places, and events in church history to discover how “the glory of heaven spreads so easily” despite much opposition. And as poignantly pointed out by her again, “And the real Christmas night happened only once, but that Christmas night resulted in Christmas over the whole world,” revealing the miraculous way Christianity spread, believe it or not, through a poor babe.
Like Joachim, we are witnesses to the Christmas mystery revealing itself each day as the book is an Advent calendar as well. The first chapter starts on Dec. 1 and the last one falls on Dec. 24. Yet, even if it is past Dec. 1, you can still have a jolly time with it as there are still 19 days till the birth of Christ. Then, you can patiently try to read a chapter on its designated day and feel, as Joachim put it, “like living in a chocolate shop without being allowed to taste one single tiny chocolate,” as the plot thickens.
White As A Lamb
Like other stories using children to explain the Supreme, The Christmas Mystery uses Elisabet and Joachim’s age, as celebrated author C.S Lewis describes it, “to go further up and further in” life’s mysteries because of their persistent enthusiasm to search for the truth and simple sincerity. Hence, the story is filled with The Little Prince-type quotables such as: “Even if the world had been no larger than a pea, it would have been as big a mystery. It’s no easier to create a pea than to create a whole solar system.” “The more we give away, the richer we become, the more we keep for ourselves, the poorer we become . . . a little smile is even enough to give.”
As I re-read this holiday favorite of mine and unearthed its wisdom, I was finally able to articulate my thoughts in public, with a bit more clarity, on the Reproductive Health Bill that is currently being discussed in Congress. I was admittedly apprehensive about writing about it because of the aggressiveness of both parties and be part of the uncalled-for bashing or the unnecessary heat.
Yet, The Christmas Mystery pushed me to talk about it because I agree with its perspective that “there’s no sense in believing what’s right unless it leads to helping people in distress.” Hence, I bringing out my belief that a Catholic should inspire through dialogue rather than perspire in a bitter debacle. First, you must know that I am against the RH bill. However, I respect its advocates for at least caring for the world over somebody who’d rather let the world spin to its demise.
I ask RH supporters though to open their minds and see that we Catholics desire a better world, too, and have come to our solutions through logic, experience, time, and not just through some holy smoke. It is just that our methods differ but where we can meet is in a humble dialogue towards the source of our country’s problems and how to solve them.
It’s A Matter Of Life
Its advocates though must know that the Church isn’t against the bill to make life harder because of its deep respect for human life, from the idea of its potential to even its final end. The Church’s goodwill and logic is what people should read up and understand before criticizing its views.
I am against the bill because I believe in a responsible society — a society made up of people who welcome children, the idea of them, and are willing to take responsibility for them. A counter community might not be so keen on taking care of its actual citizens, especially its weakest members.
Besides, the issue at hand, that Catholics also see, is the future, namely children and the world that belongs to them. As Gaarder points out in her book, “There’s no point in creating a whole world if there are no children to keep on discovering it.”
As a consequence, we have no right to bar them from entering this world.
Wrap it up!
As I wrap up this piece as a gift for you, I hope that we all meet at the crossroads, where we all sincerely want a better world for our children. This, I believe, is why Christ was born: to die for a more humane world. May we all come into the manger, find the truth and what is best for all.
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The Christmas Mystery is available at Powerbooks and National Book Store.
Interesting articles about the RH Bill:http://gangbadoy.multiply.com/journal/item/236/regarding_the_RH_Bill_; http://safe.ph; http://franciscotatad.blogspot.com,
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E-mail me at readnow@supreme.ph.