by Mankhrawbor Dunai, Assistant Professor, Department of English, Synod College, Shillong
The award winning biographical historical drama 12 Years a Slave, based on the memoir of Solomon Northup, depicts the crushing weight of slavery as it shows how an African-American free man is kidnapped and sold into slavery. The movie gives the audience a glimpse of the horrors of slavery in America during the 1800s and the injustice meted out to Solomon seems to prick at our conscience as we see a man struggle for the most basic of freedoms. His journey back to freedom culminated in the joy of finally being reunited with his wife and children.
While many are moved by the fight for freedom and the sense of relief to see a man once again receive his freedom, what strikes me as even more profound is how any person would ever choose to subject oneself to such an ordeal by their own choice. And yet, in this season of Advent, we are reminded of the coming of Jesus Christ who willingly chose to enter into a world that will take away all of the “freedoms” associated with the divine attributes of the Triune Godhood and live among us, as one of us. What is more striking is that Christ is the only person who truly had a choice of when
and where to be born at any point in history. And his choice was to be born in a dirty little stable as a refugee hunted down by a ruler baying for his blood instead of Caesar's palace in Rome. After all, if he was God, would it not have been much easier to just start right at the top and prepare the way for a rule that would surpass all other rulers made possible by living and walking through the very corridors of power in Imperial Rome? But like most things from God, He seems to show us that true power does not reside where we think it does and that His ways are beyond ours (Isaiah 55:8-9).
It may be pointed out that we live in an age where we are bombarded by choices in a manner that people in most other periods in history may not even be able to dream of. From the choice of food that we wish to eat and the clothes that we wear, to the choice of people to follow and the niche groups we join, to the destinations and experiences on offer all around the world, our current society seems to offer all of these and more, literally at our fingertips. In fact, we are so flooded by choices that we are paralysed by the avalanche of choices with some even proposing that the solution lies in taking away choice itself1. Ask anyone if they go beyond page 1 of the Google search page or their Amazon items listed and you would not be surprised if they, like you, most likely didn’t venture beyond the very first page of options. That is effectively allowing Big Tech and targeted ads to help make the choice for you. Would we also similarly allow God to direct our path and allow our choices to be guided by Him? (Proverbs 3:5-6)
The Incarnation of Christ is one such mystery of choice and what that choice entails. The Doctrine of the incarnation proved a challenge and a mystery which resulted in the Council of Chalcedon being called in 451 A.D. Through their deliberations, it was held that Jesus is one Divine person having two natures, being both divine and human. And this position became the Chalcedonian Creed that is the normative standard in understanding the orthodox view of the doctrine of who Christ is (John 1:1, 14, 18; Philippians 2:5–6; Colossians 2:9; 1 John 4:1–3). Why then did Christ choose to be human? The answer lies in the very nature of God. For God is Triune in nature and in His very nature He is relational. He chooses relationship and its restoration over, I would argue, the easier choice of deism. God represents relationality and His choice to be one of us is to show us the life that we ought to live, to suffer as we suffer and through the suffering, reveal the moral truths of the cost of truth and the pursuit of God2, even unto death (Phillipians 2:8).
In this period of Advent, as we wait for Christmas, may we learn to reflect on the choice of our Lord to choose discomfort over comfort, to pursue us even if we try to run away from Him not because He needs us but because He loves us. And though we may believe that we know what may be the best way for us to spend our Christmas, may the incarnation of Christ remind us that the coming of the Lord is not all about the presents and the warmth of the fire. Rather, it is the fire that purges us and reminds us that our hearts and our very being must pursue God just as he pursued us. The Incarnation seems to show us our limitations in understanding what is possible versus what is possible through Him. Though we know that our heart’s desire may lead us astray (Jeremiah 17:9), St. Augustine reminds us that God “hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee”3 reminding us that if our choice is to follow God, we may find comfort no matter what may lie ahead as our lives find their rest in Him.
About The Writer
Mankhrawbor Dunai is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English in Synod College, Shillong. He is also an RTB Scholar with Reasons to Believe. He is deeply passionate about socratic dialogue, striving to engage believers and non-believers alike. The goal is to both learn and teach from each other through the questions that we all have about what we believe and who we choose to be from a Judeo-Christian context.
