"Merry Christmas!"
Oh the joy of being surrounded with family and friends to commemorate one of the
greatest events on earth: the birth of our Lord and Savior! Just as Jesus came
to our planet as a present to those who will accept Him, we can also share the
joy of giving.
However, not everyone feels festive during this season of the year. Many spend
their Christmas time alone, abandoned and without an inkling of a present.
Dinner is from the stale cereal box, with maybe some peanut butter and jam on a
piece of hardened toast. "Joy" is far from their heart in such circumstances.
Instead they are facing gloom and depression.
But then, some presents may also be filled with hatred and devastation.
In 1345, plague infested hordes of Tartars from Southern Russia laid siege to
the city of Kaffa on the Black Sea, a siege that would last two years. Just that
by itself was demoralizing enough, but the plague brought by the Tartars was
terrible, and thousands died on a daily basis.
The symptoms of this plague were far from appealing. Sudden fever overtook the
victims, followed by chills and weakness. Then huge swellings would occur,
especially under the armpits and in the groin. Sufferers would experience
fatigue, lethargy and delirium. After just 4 days of distress, these victims
would succumb to respiratory failure. At the end, their bodies had an overall
purplish tint, hence the popular name: "Black Death".
Initially it was the Tartars who suffered the most from the plague. In fact,
thousands of their army died on a daily basis. They found that they had an
immense problem: What to do with all those dead bodies! Digging a thousand
graves a day was tiresome and demoralizing for the troops.
Then one of them came up with an idea: "Why don't we let our enemy take care of
them?" The next day they began to catapult the bodies of their soldiers who had
succumbed to the plague over the walls of Kaffa and into the city itself.
How would you enjoy such a Christmas present?
Within days the plague started to infest the city dwellers. Although they took
every precaution against the disease by placing tapestries to cover windows, the
plague indeterminably hit rich and poor alike and death abounded.
The Tartars had successfully barricaded the land around the city, however not
the sea behind it. The Venetian merchants, frightened by the disease, quickly
retreated to their boats and sailed back to their beloved country, Italy.
Unfortunately, they took the disease with them. The bubonic plaque reached the
soil of Sicily in 1348, then quickly spread to Genoa and into the rest of
Europe, England included. The Black Plague claimed the lives of an estimated 75
million people around the world. In just a few years Europe had lost between 30%
to 60% of its population!
Amazingly, it is said that the bubonic plague itself is not overly contagious!
So what was it that caused the disease to rampage through Europe?
There may have been many causes, but the one that stands out in the forefront is
"fleas".
Yes, these tiny black insects seem to be the probable cause of the rapid
decimation of this horrid disease. Fleas feed on blood, and when they bite a
plague-infested rat, they ingest not only the rodent's blood, but the bacteria
as well. The bacteria then begins to multiply in the flea's foregut, completely
blocking its stomach from receiving food. Now the plague-infested flea starts to
be intensely hungry, but it never seems to be able to satisfy its voracious
hunger. It frantically jumps from one host to another, injecting each one of
them with a single bite, with saliva containing about twenty thousand bacteria.
It seems that those plague-infested bodies catapulted over the city of Kaffa
were not the real cause of the decimation of the Black Death, but rather, the
fleas these bodies carried! Once inside the city, they fled the dead bodies in
search of more lively hosts!
A bigger devastation was introduced into our world when our forefathers decided
to go their own way instead of God's. Eve and Adam gave in to temptation and sin
entered our world. "Sin entered the world through one man…" (Rom 5:12 NIV)
However the word "sin" seems so impersonal and uninvolving. Just like the people
of the fourteenth century who wrongly believed that tapestries were able to
protect them from deadly diseases or that the "Black Plague" could be caused by
dead bodies, labelling all of our woes as "sin" may lead us to error! Let me
explain:
What caused the entrance of sin in this world in the first place? Was it sin?
That wouldn't make much sense. Isn't the cause of sin lack of love? Or perhaps,
more precisely, an overabundance of love of self? "When the woman saw that the
fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable
for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it." (Gen 3:6 NIV) The "I" becomes our
primal focus when we contemplate sinful desires! Others seem inconsequential
while temptation has our full attention!
Now all of a sudden this seems to be much more personal! You know what I mean!
Aren't we all guilty of lack of love for those we encounter? Are we really all
that much involved in the needs of others? Do we even care for the lonely
neighbours who are celebrating Christmas by themselves with no presents? Do we
even pray for those who are less fortunate than ourselves? Do we share their
burdens of need? Do we really know what the word "love" means?
With more than 50% of marriages on the brink, and prostitution, drugs and
abortion, homelessness and abandoned children on the increase, do we really
understand what the word "love" means?
Are we looking at prophecy with indifference? "Because of the increase of
wickedness, the love of most will grow cold…" (Matt 24:12 NIV) Are we making a
difference in our neighbourhoods, in our city, in the countries we live in? Or
are we bound by tradition? Do we only attend our once a week church excursion
with a fake smile plastered on our face while remaining indifferent to the
plight of others?
Our forefathers introduced us to death. Only One introduced us to life: "If
death got the upper hand through one man's wrongdoing, can you imagine the
breathtaking recovery life makes, sovereign life, in those who grasp with both
hands this wildly extravagant life-gift, this grand setting-everything-right,
that the one man Jesus Christ provides?" (Rom 5:17 The Message).
Isn't this why Jesus urges us to love above anything else? Isn't this why
relationships are so important to God that Jesus willingly died on a cross so
that we could be reconciled with our divine Father?
"As I have loved you, so you must love one another." (John 13:34 NIV)
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all
your mind." (Matt 22:37 NIV)
Love is the antithesis to the word "sin", it is the opposite to selfish living!
Love is the cure to all of our troubles. Relationship is of utmost importance to
God!
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever
believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16 NIV)
This is why Jesus willingly left heaven and entered our human race: to show the
way to reconciliation, to show the way to real love!
If we do celebrate Christmas in honor of Jesus, shouldn't we at least try
reaching out to one hapless soul who will not have the honor of celebrating this
event with anyone else?
If we want a revolution in our neighbourhood, we need to follow in Jesus'
footsteps! What would Jesus do if He was in our locality? Are we bringers of
life or death?
What is your choice?
Rob Chaffart
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
everyone to look towards Jesus as the source of all the solutions to our
problems. It contains a daily inspirational story, a Bible verse and encouraging
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The Nugget: Published three times a week, this newsletter features inspirational devotionals and mini-sermons dedicated to drawing mankind closer to each other and to Christ.