Each time Christmas approaches l can’t help but imagine what it must have been like when Jesus was born. To me it seems it is about the story of Jesus, especially when we look at the circumstances that surrounded his birth, focusing on who was there, and where he was born. If we consider these details, we can begin to have a deeper understanding of the story of his life.
That is why it can be helpful to think of our own perceptions and ideas of what the world means to us. Our own story as it were. Let us begin by looking at the circumstances that surrounded our own birth, who was there, and what can we remember?
For most Christians, Christmas is a time when they celebrate or mark the beginning of life, the birthday of Jesus so to speak. There are different views on the exact date, based on historical accounts and research that has been done. For me, it is essential for us to have a day/season when we can celebrate the birth of our lord and Saviour and to take the opportunity to also empower and support each other.
More recently, my interest has shifted from celebration to being more inquisitive about how individuals prepare for Christmas. For instance, does the Jesus we believe in require presents or gifts? Can this be linked to christening services or baby naming ceremonies where parents thank God for bringing to them a special “gift”? These questions look at our motivation when we do something, and the idea is that all of us are to some extent driven by either internal or external forces that are responsible for what we do or say.
The circumstances that surrounded Jesus’ birth, remind me of the Black History Month celebrations (October 1st to October 31st 2024), which focused on “reclaiming narratives”. In the Christmas story, where we are told that Jesus the Saviour of the World, came to save that which was lost. For more details on this, let us check the gospel of Luke 19:10, and referring to Jesus it says: “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” In other words, the story makes us aware that JESUS came to change the perception of how we see ourselves, and what the meaning of life is all about.
The themes that one can draw from the Christmas story, such as memory, gifts, presents and family are powerful and have been used in academia to understand human society. I was also impressed by a public lecture held at the University of East Anglia, which was innovative in helping Children to understand how Christmas movies and films are used in the media. This made me aware that the Christmas story can be unpacked in different ways.
During this season of advent, which means waiting, let us be mindful of the usefulness of thinking about our life journey, and seek to find out what has inspired you as individuals, or as communities. What has been the cause of struggle in the year 2024? As we look ahead in 2025, what do we hope for? As we reflect on this question, it’s also essential to realise that we have the power to change our own story, and how it is told. This is as true for William Temple Foundation as it is for you. This year we have sought to promote the story and legacy of William Temple through our Radical Hope campaign and in so doing rediscover the roots of our story which has implications for the ways we engage with others across society. Of course, the society that we live in continues to evolve and change, and requires some adjustments and adaptations to how we understand reality and how we tell our story. However, what remains true is that our story continues to be written.
So, what can we learn from the life of Jesus? He was born in a stable. For the most part was despised. He was not what people expected. However, when he died for all as taught by the Biblical Accounts, we understand that JESUS experienced life as we do. As we remember him during the Christmas season, let us also not forget his story. Let us also honour our own story, and the way it can shape the society that we live in. In 2025, what needs to change if we are to have a story that we can be proud of? If we can find answers to this, we can contribute to the story of the betterment of our society for all.
God bless you all!
Revd Dr Ericcson T. Mapfumo is Chaplain at the University of Huddersfield and Trustee of the William Temple Foundation
All the time, we try to make advances in society, we realise that sometimes the past is forgotten, or things that were discarded in past years, are resurfacing once again, using different terminology. As a chaplain in some of my discussions with colleagues on environment issues, we noticed that recent focus on simple living and eating organic foods is now popular, but let me say during colonial times, when Africans were living simple lifestyles as pastoralists or agriculturalist they were seen as primitive. It is interesting how civilization has brought us back to the past we once despised. The main take away for me, is about the questions we ask ourselves. For Africans, they understood the wisdom of simplicity and contentment and let me say a stress-free life. In modern times we notice that those with power, we are sometimes looking for ways to impose their culture on others. As Karl Marx and Franz Fanon observed, the capitalist apparatus or system, continues to prevail in our contemporary society in terms of what is considered ideal or must have. This makes me think that our society is structured along the lines of the means of production, and who is in control (Mocombe et al., 2024).
Writing from my perspective as a university chaplain, l have been amazed how some of the things l wanted to ask, or talk about seem at times to be not so important to the university community, and could this be related to where one was born? As a Shona from Zimbabwe, questions that fill my mind had to do with what the world means to me.
I draw inspiration from the game of chess and in my current role, l am found playing with staff and students in our community lounge or during fresher’s week. Being a chess player has meant that l try to think deeply. To educationalists this is very useful if one is to reflect and to challenge ourselves. We might also call this metacognition (Bahri et al., 2023), which is essentially thinking about your thinking. There is a lot of this when one is playing the game of chess. Perhaps, it can be helpful if we can begin to see life or the university context as a game of chess. If viewed this way, then a critical question becomes how do we win the game? Perhaps, this too is about asking the right questions. The endgame is an important part of chess. In a university context what is the end game about? Is it about ensuring that we have diversity, and everyone contributes to the life of the university? In a game of chess, gaining material advantage, position and so forth are relevant. They are not the end goal of the game however. This is not to say that there is something wrong with gaining material advantage, this alerts us to the fact that we can do all these things, but at the end of the day, it’s about who wins the game. I have also heard it said differently, “that you can win the battle, but lose the war”. So, if we are to apply this learning in a university setting, this makes us want to ensure that those actions that are considered important remain important. In other words, the main thing remains the main thing. The university must be a place of learning, questioning assumptions about the world that is around us.
In conclusion, my argument is centred on the type of questions that we ask, such that we might not get the answers to the challenges we are encountering, simply due to the wrong questions being asked. This is what l have found to be useful in my role as university chaplain, as l tried to navigate the different facets of university life. Hence, it is pertinent that each time, we ask ourselves, if we are asking the right question(s). This will make us realise the importance of asking the right questions in every part of our lives or university community. It seems as if the past comes to haunt us, and the secret when this happens its not to close our eyes and hope for the best, but to be bold to face new truths, and asking new set of questions can help.
Revd Dr Ericcson T. Mapfumo is a Trustee of the William Temple Foundation, missional priest in Charge of Christ Church Moldgreen and St James Rawthorpe and Anglican Chaplain at the University of Huddersfield. He holds several vocational and academic qualifications, and degrees in Theology from Durham University (Common Awards). With a doctorate specialising in the lived experience of Black clergy in the Church of England, his research is an essential focal point for intercultural ministerial relationships in religious institutions.
