Below is the Audio Companion for this article. The run-time is 00:06:26. Play it, read along, and enjoy.
“It’s Christmas!” On this day, every year, ‘peace’ and ‘giving’ are celebrated, as the holiness of God and Christ, and the magic and fantasy of the Fairy Gomother are all mushed together into the secular form of Santa Clause. But, that’s okay, because, setting aside all aspects of deity, Jesus had a very powerful secular message, too.”
The world into which Jesus was born in the year Zero was, ideologically, almost identical to 2015. Ancient, powerful factions were fighting for control, whether it was Roman Governors, or Praetorian Consuls, or Priests of the Temple. Compare that to modern Democrats, and Republicans, and Dictators, and Religions.
The tools used to inflict such control were also exactly the same then as they are now: strict rules of behavior – wear a certain garment, a certain head cover, meet specific codes for hair growth, eat certain food from certain plates, observe ritual days for work and no work, hate and lie to enemies, cultivate specific attitudes toward un-believers, idealize and idolize the ruler, exploit the rich, control the poor, enslave the middle, restrict interaction and civil liberties for and between all people, and make having a wrong thought a crime. All of these punishable by public humiliation, physical punishment, alienation, isolation, and death; and all designed to induce enough of one particular mental state to remove all aspirations of individuality from everyone – FEAR.
Keeping it simple, the Romans had conquered the Jews, but left the Jewish leadership, the Pharisees, intact to control the general population. Control of the entire Roman Empire from exalted nobles all the way down to its poorest slaves was managed by inflicting evermore strict and ponderous rules. The simplest violation was met with the harshest punishment. Everyone was condemned. Sound familiar?
This was the way of the desolate world into which Jesus was born. Throughout his youth, he behaved himself, he followed the rules, he studied hard. He achieved the pinnacle of his society and became a Rabbi. All was well for a while, and he was – mostly – like everyone else, teaching conformity to the empire, and strict adherence to the rules of the temple priests. But when he reached the age of 30, he changed from being a regular rabbi. He became a teacher for the people, and uttered only a few words, which branded him as a ‘radical’ enemy of the state.
The chore of surviving such a tyrannical existence is summed up in a song of the season, O Holy Night, by the single line, “Long lay the world in sin and error pining…” How long? Thousands of years. The error? Oppression in the name of God. Why? Because no one had a better idea,….. until you-know-who came along.
He upset the political and religious establishment by pointing out the eons-old error, ‘laws and lies of men disguised as the will of God.’ By offering an alternative, a complete reversal of how people could view their own lives; a way based on peace, love, kindness, respect, charity, and forgiveness; a way that proclaimed personal life and liberty as sacred; a way that lifted up the individual mind as unique and precious, and trounced the official sheep-herd mentality of an entire populace controlled by a privileged few, Jesus set free the hearts and minds of the whole world. To make it even worse for the priests and politicians, the dirty, rotten, radical wouldn’t condemn anybody.
In essence Jesus said, “Here’s Good News. Be not afraid. No one has to live with such heavy burdens.” His main points were:
- The strict rules and heavy burdens of the Pharisees do not come from God.
- Don’t be hypocrites like them, the leaders.
- People are not made for the leaders. The leaders are accountable to the people.
- Don’t lie.
- Don’t hate.
- Don’t seek revenge.
- Don’t judge anyone for any reason.
- Do be good to one another.
- Do NOT be afraid.
- Wrong will fail.
- Right will prevail.
With those few words, Jesus challenged the very essence of forced existence touted by tongue-wagging men who controlled standards of clothing, food, and thought. When He uttered the four word phrase, “Don’t be like them,” he signed his own death warrant. The tongue-waggers didn’t like his message, and they killed him for it.
But, it was too late. The idea of being Free from Fear was too big to be contained. That message of Jesus has crossed time and is still true today.
In fact, we can use His thoughts in our own calamitous, personal situations:
- The theft of political control and abuse of power by modern, hypocritical, lying, hateful, judgmental religious and nation-leaders, worldwide, is NOT a gift given by God.
- People are not made for the leaders. The leaders are accountable to the people.
- Do not be hypocrites like them.
- Don’t lie.
- Don’t hate.
- Don’t seek revenge
- Don’t judge anyone for any reason.
- DO Be good to one another.
- Wrong will fail
- Right will prevail.
Because of a radical teacher’s two-thousand-year-old words, a teacher who was executed for his thoughts, we now have the social concept of ‘freedom’, so it’s right to celebrate the birth of the one man in all of history who released the world from fear.
Ring the bells all over the world!
There is Hope for ALL Mankind!
Right WILL Prevail.
You CAN live without fear.
That’s GOOD NEWS!
CREDITS
This feature, ‘Jesus Had a Secular Message, Too’, is directed, and produced by the author Andy Bozeman.
©2015, by the author, for the text and voice publication, and the Audio Book Recording.
The Vintage Christmas Tree image is ©2015 by the maker, Debbie Harris , owner of AutumnAire.com
All music in this recording was composed and produced, and the copyrights are owned, by Jack Waldenmaier; and is available exclusively from MusicBakery.com.
Go to my home page and buy a great story for fun reading – HERE.
To read more free Andy Bozeman stories, GO TO THE STORY SHELF.
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