The Rebellion of Christmas

One of the biggest ironies of Buddhism is that Buddha never endorsed the belief in God as done by organised religions but he ended up becoming one such God. Buddha did not advocate for prayer in the sense of appealing to a divine entity for favours or intervention. But his followers of today seem to be giving undue importance to rituals and offerings.

Something similar happened to Jesus and his teachings too. Jesus was trying to reform his religion, Judaism, by making it more humane. He wanted to redeem Judaism from its meaningless rituals and displays of devotion. Religion is meaningless and even dangerous unless it touches the believer’s heart and transforms it.

Jesus was not interested in the rubrics and the regulations prescribed by the priests of his religion. His primary concern was love and relationships. What good is religion unless it helps you to love your fellow human beings? “If anyone says ‘I love God’ and hates his brother, he is a liar,” Jesus’s beloved disciple John paraphrased Jesus without mincing words. How can you love God who is invisible when you cannot love your neighbour who is just before your eyes?

Jesus defended his disciples when they apparently broke some rules of the Sabbath. “Is Sabbath made for humans or humans made for the Sabbath?” That’s what he asked. Is religion made for humans or humans made for religion? When you attack anyone in the name of religious creeds and deeds, you are rendering that religion a mockery. Religion cannot be about attacking anyone at all. “Love your enemy” is how Jesus’ teachings would be summarised as.

Jesus as a Rebel

Albert Camus might have considered Jesus a rebel if we go by his criteria as explicated in his book The Rebel. First of all, rebellion is an act of resistance against injustice or oppression, driven by a sense of human dignity. It arises when an individual says ‘no’ to a situation deemed intolerable. But at the same time that individual must be saying ‘yes’ to another system. The rebel is not a mere destroyer; he is the creator of an alternative system. That is just what Jesus was doing: say ‘no’ to the oppressive systems of his contemporary politics as well as religion, and go on to create an alternative system based on love and compassion.

Camus also looked at the relationship between rebellion and the essential metaphysical questions like the nature of existence and the meaning of life. Wasn’t Jesus’ entire effort meant for clothing human existence with an altogether fresh, if not new, meaning? His teachings were diametrically opposite to what his religion was teaching, especially when it came to rituals and other displays of devotion.

Camus warned us about the fates of many rebellions in history, such as the French Revolution and Marxism. He critiqued their tendency to devolve into systems of oppression and violence: become the opposite of what they were intended to be. Revolutions often betray their original ideals, Camus argued. Hasn’t that happened to Jesus’ teachings?

Another serious warning given by Camus, and perhaps most important today, is the limits of rebellion. The most dangerous limit is the absolutism of ideologies, which will end up justifying violence and oppression in the name of certain ideals. This is just what’s happening to most organised religions today, including the countless ones founded in the name of Jesus. Jesus won’t approve of what people are doing in God’s name all over the world. He would once again affirm shared human values without ever succumbing to violence or tyranny of any sort.

If I may summarise Camus’s teachings in one sentence: Rebellion should strive to affirm life, dignity, and the interconnectedness of humanity. That is precisely what Jesus was trying to do. That is why Jesus is still relevant. That is why I celebrate Christmas.

For me, Christmas brings the ultimate rebellion. I would embrace Jesus the moment his priests and acolytes release him from their clutches.

Merry Christmas