Tonight, our community will be celebrating its first Christmas together. And once again, we will read the familiar words from the Gospel of Luke: “It came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.” And we will know that Christmas has truly begun. These words have become so much part of our Christmas folklore that we hardly seem to register the revolution that the evangelist Luke is announcing here.
The tax census resulted from Caesar Augustus taking direct control over Judea. The census would have been more than an administrative action for the local people. In the Judean tradition, counting people was a sin. This becomes clear when we read the Old Testament. To know the total number of people alive, or to know precisely the size of your lands, or to harvest all its fruits, was to claim a kind of omnipotence that belongs exclusively to God (2 Samuel 1-17). Therefore, the political-theological message of the Roman Emperor's call for a census was to affirm his claim of a rival divine status for his kingship over Judea.
We can now see how Luke’s opening statement directly opposes Caesar Augustus’ political claim. Instead of locating the birth of Christ within a specific time frame, as in “When Caesar Augustus was emperor, Christ was born,” Luke puts the essential claim first “When Christ was born, Caesar Augustus was emperor.” The birth of a new mightier king is mentioned before all other earthly rulers.
Today we often seem to forget the revolutionary nature of what started then. The celebration of Christmas has turned into a new counting game. We count the number of cash transactions in the shops on the days before Christmas, the number of people travelling to see friends and the average price of a Christmas dinner. But none of these numbers helps us to understand what the feast is all about.
What would happen if we told the story again as Luke told it?
When we celebrate the birth of Jesus, it is Christmas.
I wish you a Merry Christmas, and may God bless us all!
Update on the works
The new kitchens for the student accommodations arrived. However, it took some unorthodox measures to haul all the materials to the correct level.
The stairs for the new fire escape from the 5th to the 4th floor were built and can now be finished. This was a big project as there had been no fire escape on the 5th floor.
And the brothers got some new washing machines for doing their laundry. Before, we only had one device, and it could not keep up with the demands of 11 brothers.
Academic work
The photo was taken before a recent defence in Leuven
Next month, I plan to defend my PhD-thesis on a Dominican political theology of religious life after Agamben at KU Leuven. The date has been set for the 27th of January. Please keep me in your prayers and send me a personal message if you want to attend the occasion.
Looking ahead
Next week, the Dominicans of Belgium and the Netherlands will celebrate their first joint provincial chapter. A chapter is a meeting held every four years to evaluate the brothers' mission and set a vision for the next four years. Finally, some significant changes are coming up for me, but more about that next time.