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Written by Stephen Munga
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Friday, 15 December 2006 18:10 |
| Merry Christmas and
|  | Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2007! | | Now when they (shepherds) had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. (Luke 2: 17-19) | | It is Christmas again! This is an utterance I here from some people whenever Christmas season comes. I really don’t know what feelings are behind such an utterance. Is it a sign of joy! Is it a sign of despair! Is it feelings that express a sense of unaccomplished duties and responsibilities! I don’t really know. What I assume is that some of us are happy that Christmas is here again while some of us feel that it has come too soon – it should have waited for some two months more. |
Time is always coming too soon and we cannot do anything to change it. We always try to plan things so as to fit exactly one year but I don’t know any person who has really succeeded. We are always in a rush but days are rushing even faster than us. Whether we are ready or not and whether we are happy or not – It is Christmas again! It is here for us because that small boy who is born - Jesus the Son of God – is for us and for our salvation. Christmas is here as a gift for the world that needs a Saviour and so it is worth celebrating it. It is Christmas again! – let us thank God for this year’s Christmas. Let us make it a real Happy Christmas! There is a lot of preparations in each of the traditions of celebrating Christmas. Let us enjoy even standing in long lines in shopping centers in order to buy gifts for our beloved ones. Let us enjoy those long cooking hours in our kitchens for those traditions which normally have Christmas tables well and fully packed with food as a way of celebrating. It is Christmas again!
| We here in the North Eastern Diocese are not different from you sisters and brothers. We had our own struggles with time and the coming of Christmas so soon cause some kind of stress. We had a very tight timetable towards the end of this year quite contrary to what I promised myself last year that I would rather plan for a softer ending of this year. Wishes are not horses! However, I want to confess that all that which have been happening are blessing. We had our struggles here in the NED related to the preparations for the opening of university (SEKUCo). During the last weeks these preparation were done in a different way because we were waiting for a technical team from the Tanzania Commission for Universities (TCU). It is not a small thing to be inspected! We are happy to inform you all friends that the efforts we have put in preparing for the inspection have given good fruits. A recommendation of that technical team to the TCU is that we should be granted Provisional Registration Certificate (PRC) on condition that we work hard to complete some of the requirements. This is the best Christmas gift our God has given us! We really appreciate the efforts of the Rev. Dr. Anneth Munga, Ag Provost, for the excellent work of preparing for the inspection. We thank all others who sacrificed their sleep for some days for the sake of putting things right. We thank you friends who are together with us and supporting us spiritually and materially in this big project. More effort is now needed than before in order to make SEKUCo a reality and open it in 2007 as we have being informing you. I still invite you all to increase your support to this project so that we may succeed in this big mission to the world. We are happy that we are celebrating this Christmas with this gift which we have been waiting for.
| | Let me conclude this message by saying that this year’s Christmas is here for us. As it is dramatized in the gospel of Luke it always comes to us with certain kind of surprises. Likewise we respond to its message in different ways. The verse I quoted above shows how diverse our reception of Christmas is year after year. With the coming of Christmas we, just like the shepherds, are put in a journey which we were not prepared for. We get the news about the new born baby Jesus with the effect that some of us share that news with others, some of us just marvel and some of us like Mary keep all those things in our hearts and calmly wait and see what comes next about this boy Jesus. Those three groups are well represented each year when Christmas comes for the purpose and glory of God. What is important in this connection is that the news about the birth of Christ always make us respond in a certain ways. | | In our time and with consideration of our world today I wish we could respond like the shepherds by spreading the news about Jesus. In a world totally confused and has lost track on what peace means and how it should be achieved we need to spread widely the news about Jesus who is our peace. The utterance It is Christmas again should be a cry of hope. The coming of Christ reminds us of the promise of hope in Him who is born for us. Let us together with the shepherds and the host of heaven widely spread the news that Jesus is born which means glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace. Christmas in that meaning always comes to us at the right time. In that sense Christmas is never a stress in our lives - it never comes earlier than when we wish it to come. In that sense of Christmas as the coming of peace we are provided with a strong symbol of the presence of God Himself in the world. Christmas as a symbol of peace makes us wish that everyday is Christmas! In that sense of Christmas as a way of our God blessing us with peace let us pray that the whole New Year 2007 be Christmas! May God bless you with peace! | | I wish you a Merry Christmas and
A Blessed Happy New Year 2007!
Dr. Stephen Munga
Bishop
ELCT- North Eastern Diocese |
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Last Updated ( Monday, 03 March 2008 00:23 )
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