Chief Genny!! Genevieve Nnaji Gets Chieftaincy Title - Read More

Congratulations ............'Eze Ada of Amuzu Nweafor in Mbaise, Imo state

BREAKING NEWS: AirAsia Flight QZ8501 from Indonesia to Singapore missing. WHAT IS REALLY HAPPENING??

     

An AirAsia flight travelling from Indonesia to Singapore has lost contact with air traffic control with 162 people on board. Flight QZ8501 lost contact at 07:24 (23:24 GMT), Malaysia-based AirAsia tweeted.

Search and rescue operations are under way.

Malaysia's national carrier Malaysia Airlines has suffered two disasters this year - flights MH370 and MH17 - but AirAsia has never lost a plane.

Flight MH370 disappeared on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in March with 239 passengers and crew, and MH17 was shot down over Ukraine in July, killing all 298 on board.

The AirAsia flight had been due to arrive in Singapore at 08:30 (00:30GMT).

The missing jet had requested a "deviation" from the flight path due to bad weather, the company said.

The flight arrivals board at Changi Airport in Singapore, where the AirAsia flight was due

There were 155 passengers on board, with 138 adults, 16 children and one infant, the company said in a statement. Also on board were two pilots and five cabin crew.

Most of those on board were Indonesian, but there were six others on board, AirAsia has said: three South Koreans, and one each from France, Malaysia and Singapore.

An official with the transport ministry, Hadi Mustofa, told local media the plane lost contact over the Java Sea, between the islands of Kalimantan and Java.

He said the plane had asked for an unusual route before it lost contact and that the weather had been cloudy.

AirAsia has set up an emergency line for family or friends of those who may be on board. The number is +622 129 850 801.

The company's chief executive, Tony Fernandes, tweeted: "Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers. We must stay strong."

Sad Story of 'ALBINOS' -Nobody wants to marry us, employers reject us…WHAT SHOULD WE DO???

He was barely one year old when his parents neglected him and parted ways after a serious fight, simply because he was an albino, a rare breed that was contrary to what they had both expected.

Forty years after, Mr. Abdullahi Obafemi, has yet to recover from the painful knowledge that his parents abandoned him. They tossed him between each other until his grandmother, who was living in northern Nigeria, took over his custody.Obafemi is still haunted by his history, the humiliation and rejection he continues to suffer from the public daily.

“I am my parents’ only child. I learnt their marriage ended abruptly the moment my mother gave birth to me as an albino. In fact, I learnt my mother screamed, Eh! Afin ni mo bi (Ha, I gave birth to an albino) when she saw me.
“While they were busy denying me and fighting over who would take care of me, my grandmother took me away from them,” Obafemi said with a note of sadness.

Growing up was also not easy for Obafemi as he helplessly endured the constant discrimination meted against people like him.Obafemi recalled his tough experience in school. His bad sight affected his learning in school even when he sat in front of the class.

He said,

 “I wasn’t seeing things clearly and I couldn’t afford to buy reading glasses. I had to rely on my classmates so I could copy from their notes but they often treated me with disdain. Nobody wanted to move close to an albino.
“Thank God I was brilliant, it was when they saw that I was very good that they came close to me, not because they liked me but they knew I would always solve questions for them so they could pass.”

Despite the resilience and hard work that saw Obafemi through school, getting a good job has remained an elusive desire. He was rejected, abused and humiliated everywhere he looked for job because of his albinism.Obafemi studied Building Technology at the Yaba College of Technology, Lagos.

“The pains, humiliation and rejection I went through before I could graduate are things I don’t like to remember. It is now more painful that nobody wants to employ me because of my skin and some employers even make jest of me.

“There was a time I applied for a job, and having seen my application, I was invited to write a test. When I got there, one of the interview panel members said, ‘So you are an albino, don’t worry; we will invite you some other time.’
“When I later got a job as a civil servant, I had to learn painting to augment my meagre income and even when people want to give me job, some people would say I wouldn’t see very well because of my eyes. They say I would paint green instead of blue. I lost many jobs because of that too but I got few on compassionate grounds

“There was a day I went to apply for a security job, I was asked by the company officials how I would see people coming in and I told them I was not blind. But they told me that I was the one who needed security instead, not for me to be a security man.”

Obafemi has had to combat rejection in many ways, including relationship with women.

“Thankfully, I have a nine-year-old son now, who is not an albino, but the family of his mother didn’t allow me to marry her because I was an albino and they said I wasn’t rich enough. However, I am happy I have one already, but I wish I was not an albino, because life would have been easier for me, like others,” he added

Tola Banjoko is another albino. She suffers from bad sight, and that alone has cost her the desire to go to school as she had to drop out of school.Born into a family of 10, and as the only albino in the family, life dealt cruelly with her. She told Saturday Punch that not even the idea of sitting in front of the class would help her situation and since her mother could not buy the recommended glasses to aid her vision, she had to stop going to school and opted to run a kiosk.

She said,

“When I complained to my mother that I didn’t see things on the board, she didn’t really know what to do. My mother went to plead with my teacher to allow me to sit in front but that didn’t solve the problem.
“I was able to finish primary school because one of my teachers would sit beside me and read the questions to me during exams, but there was no such help when I got to a public secondary school that my parents could afford.
“In JSS1, one of my teachers would always tell me to go and sit at the back because she said I was too tall to sit in front. Even when I tried to explain why I needed to sit there, she wouldn’t listen. And my own sight was so bad that I could put number one in two sometimes. When I became so disturbed about everything, I stopped schooling, more so that I couldn’t afford the pair of glasses that would have aided my sight.”

Banjoko told Saturday PUNCH that after she dropped out of school, her skin began to change for the worst when she had to defy the golden rule for albinos not to roam in the sun, to look for a job until she couldn’t get any and had to settle for running a small kiosk on the street where she earns a living.

“While I was going out to look for job, it was like fire was burning my skin each time I was in the sun until I was forced to start selling things. I still want to go to school and I don’t want to lose hope, but I feel very bad that I am an albino because my education has suffered for it and that is a huge loss for me. I wish I was not an albino but what can I do?” she lamented

Chikwem, a graduate of Microbiology from Michael Okpara University, Umudike, Abia State lamented that she had been so frustrated to the extent of considering suicide when it seemed the doors of favour had been shut against her.

“Even when I know I am qualified for a job, I don’t get it and some even say it to my face that an albino cannot do their kind of work. Albinism does not affect our intelligence, we are not blind, it is just the skin colour and our sight. I believe in myself and I know I will make it because I won’t give up,” she lamented.

Chikwem said even though God created her for a purpose, she would never marry a fellow albino. She said,

“I feel unlucky and unfortunate being an albino and I will never marry an albino or someone with the gene because that would be double tragedy. It is not because there is something wrong with albinos, I am an albino, but the discrimination has made it a problem.

“I am at the moment an office secretary somewhere and I do another free job because some don’t even want me in the first place, so I forced myself to be there so I could be actively engaged even if I am not being paid. I like to practise what I studied, but nobody wants to give albinos a chance. But I won’t stop searching in spite of the frustration.“If I struggled to go to school with my short sightedness and graduated with a Second Class Upper division and I still do not get a job because of my colour, that is not a thing of joy. I am sad. Now I want to do my Master’s programme if that would help, but I don’t have the money.”

As she continues to look for job, Chikwem is not thinking about being in a relationship even at 26, because she rarely gets passes from men. She said,

 “That I’m an albino may be a factor, but I don’t want to think that way. I don’t even like to think about it so that it doesn’t compound my problem, and the reason why you don’t see many albinos at the top is because of the adversities that we face. Those who are not strong-willed tend to lose hope and withdraw their efforts.
“I once considered suicide when the adversities and rejection became so severe; but I chose to face it headlong. When one is pushed beyond some limit, a reaction like suicide could flash through the mind.” 

 Forty-three-year-old Lukman Desmond is one of the over six million people living with albinism in Nigeria. Currently unemployed, his dream was to be an officer in the military but he has since let go of that dream due to his albinism. He said he didn’t bother to obtain the form because he knew he would not be considered.

Lukman is trying to manage his fears that his Ordinary Level qualification may not take him anywhere in the midst of over 20 million black-skinned Nigerian youths that are currently unemployed, with the country’s 24 per cent unemployment rate.

He said,

“Presently, I have O’ level and I have been looking for a job to support myself to further my education but I have been turned down everywhere I go, even if it is a menial job. It’s frustrating. My father does not have enough to support me to study to a higher level, so I want to help myself and supplement whatever they give to me but people don’t want to employ an albino.
“Because of the rejections here and there, I do ask myself if they don’t want us to live. Even women discriminate against us. By the time you don’t have a job, everybody avoids you and nothing seems to be working in your favour, what is there to live for.”
“At 44 now, I don’t have a girlfriend because they don’t want to come close to me. I was dating a lady sometime ago, but the moment the mother saw me, the instant disapproval on her face was too obvious that I didn’t even wait for her to say it. But I will keep trying until I have a job and married.

 Mrs. Linda Mustapha would have others to tell her own kind of bitter story.Mustapha was barely 16 when she was forced into marriage with a man she had never met by a relative, shortly after her grandfather who had been her guardian.

As a young girl bubbling with life and strong desire for education, all her dreams of a better future soon hit the rocks, an experience that replaced her once joyous life with one full of regrets and frustration, when she married without her consent, to a man that was 15 years older than her.

Fair skinned and very beautiful, when she got to Lagos from the village, and was slowly reconciling herself with the trauma that had flooded her small world, she committed the unexpected crime: She gave birth to albinos — a phenomenon that runs contrary to the culture in her husband’s village.
She had hope of continuing her education someday even though the possibility was not very bright initially when she had her first son, a male with black complexion, but when the second and third children came and they were albinos, hell was let loose by the husband’s family, who not only made sure she was divorced, but also subjected the children to utter discomfort and trouble.

Mustapha recalled that she never knew what love or relationship meant before the arranged marriage, and even when she followed the husband to Lagos, but that life became hellish when she had the two albinos. Since then, she has been enduring a torturous life of abject poverty.Her case fits in perfectly into the common rhetoric, ‘When the fruit of the womb becomes a disadvantage.’

She said,

“I was 10 when I lost my mum and my dad died when I was 14. I was about registering for junior WASSCE when my grandfather died and that is why I don’t have my Junior School Certificate till date because I wrote the exam on credit. Instead of these relatives to help with my exam fees, they were in a hurry to give me out in marriage, and they did.”

She disclosed that to prove how desperate her larger family members were to get rid of her, when her husband could not pay the N600 dowry, someone in her family lent him the money!

She said,

“There was no love between us, he never proposed to me and I never knew him. I was a virgin when I was given to him and I never knew anything about sex or relationship before then, so the pains I went through still haunt me till today.
“He handled me as if I was inconsequential, while I became pregnant a year after we arrived Lagos. I was only 17. I wanted to go to school, but he deceived me and told me that I would be kidnapped if I did, and because of the magnitude of the fear he had implanted in me, I could not summon enough courage to run away. I wish I had, even if I was going to die, because now I live in regret and poverty.”

Her marital problems assumed a terrifying dimension when she gave birth to two albinos—a boy and a girl, as the situation pitched her against her husband’s extended family. Even her husband could not forgive her for these births. Eventually, she was sent packing and told never return to the man.

“They told me that it was forbidden to have an albino in their tradition, and when I had mine, his family members accused me of bringing an albino, a forbidden genre of people in their culture, to their home.

Mustapha’s experience underscores the evils of child marriage and its attendant implications. As a fair skinned beautiful lady, she recalled that the husband would come to where she was selling some things to beat and embarrass her, and even accuse her of sleeping around even when she was almost enslaved and was not allowed to go out at will.

“Eventually, he threw my things out, he didn’t allow me to sleep in the house, and I had to sleep in the kitchen every night. As if that was not enough, he locked me out and took the children to his village where his family members made him swear to an oath that he would never allow me to step into his house again. When he was returning to Lagos, they organised another woman for him. The woman left when she couldn’t cope with his attitude.“My husband threatened to bathe me with acid if he sees me around, all because I gave birth to albinos.”

Now 37, Mustapha’s torturous experience has shaped her life and confined her into a corner of abundant regrets. Having been out of job for a long time and residing in a church somewhere in Apapa area of Lagos State, she struggles to get money to feed herself, her three children and the husband, who is now sick, on a weekly basis.

Having been at the mercy of friends and relatives since she lost her job as a cleaner, she is currently living from hands to mouth to feed the family of five and buy the necessary protective items for her albino children.

“The children are with him because I don’t have a house. I sleep in a church at the moment. I only go to see them on weekends to give them food that can last them for a week.
“I am not an albino. I didn’t grow up to see any albino in my family, we are only fair skinned, which is not even close to albinism, but they have an albino in their lineage. They have shifted the entire blame on me. I wish my parents didn’t die that early, because all these wouldn’t have happened if they had been alive.”

She said at a point, her in-laws even transferred the anger they felt towards her to her children.

“On a particular occasion after I was sent out of the house leaving my children behind, my husband’s sister came around. One day, she dipped my first son’s buttocks in hot water because they accused him of stealing a belt, leaving his buttocks severely burnt. When he managed to call me and I got there, I took off his trousers to see the extent of the damage. What I saw was shocking! My son’s flesh was gummed to the trousers and it peeled as I tried to remove the trousers. I had to take him to the hospital where the trousers were removed.“As if that was not enough, the woman also gave pepper and hot water to my first albino child to swallow, and stood on him, all in a bid to torment him. I regret everything that has happened to me. I would have been able to escape if not for my children but now I’m stuck, all because I gave birth to albinos.

It’s not all gloom for the albinos

The coordinator of the albino group in Lagos State, Mrs. Josephine Yejide, who is also a nurse, said it is important for people to know that albinism deals with gene and that it goes beyond facial calculation.

She recalled that she had always lived a freedom-spiced life as a young woman and that she never allowed anybody to look down on her, which was why she was able to make progress in her education and career.

She said even though she had male friends who liked her and wanted her for a relationship, they would always run away when it was time to discuss about marriage or meet with their parents.

She said,

“I never entertained inferiority complex and I mixed with everybody, attended parties and even joined the Kegites Club in school, and I was committed to my work, so there was no way anybody would malign me. I always dress well because I understand the perception of people about my skin colour, so if I dress well, people would respect me. There is already a minus for us, so looking bad makes it worse.”

Culled from Punch

Muhammadu Buhari explains in an Interview with Weekly Trust Why He Will win in 2015 - READ WHAT HE SAID

The Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Muhammadu Buhari has expressed confidence in his ability to win the upcoming 2015 elections.

The former Head of State, who has contested four times for the country’s number one office, gave reasons as to why the next elections would seal the deal for him.

He stated this and more during an interview with Weekly Trust. Excerpts below:

Weekly Trust: This is your fourth stab at the presidency. Is there any factor that makes you feel this attempt will be any different?

Muhammadu Buhari: Yes. The first is the merger which gave birth to the APC itself. Since 2005, we realized that none of the opposition parties can go up against the PDP significantly. The party has no intention of ruling this country with justice, as we have seen in the sixteen years they have been around. For example, on the side of the economy, look at the Nigerian Airways, the railways and shipping line, where are they? Look at the expenditure on NEPA and the hearing conducted by the National Assembly on it. Then look at pension funds and the petroleum industry. The list is long.

There is no way they can tell you that there has been an honest attempt to punish corruption on a massive scale in this country. Secondly, out of ethical bbehavior Nigerian soldiers started granting interviews to foreign media, saying they were being sent to the war-front without proper weapons. And again the National Assembly attempted to conduct a hearing by going to find out what is being appropriated to the military or the Ministry of Defence for the last three, four years, which amounts to trillions of naira. And they invited the service chiefs or Chief of Defence Staff to tell them what is happening to the money, but that hearing was frustrated.

WT: You’ve been in the race for the presidency for over a decade now. Some people feel that as one of the pillars of the merger, you should have sacrificed your ambition so that a younger generation would aspire...

Buhari: I don’t want to personalize going for the highest office. If you could recall, I was being held on it by a number of people when I broke down in 2010, when I said after that attempt I won’t attempt again. But my supporters all over the country said since I didn’t say I have resigned completely from politics in the press statement I issued, I cannot refuse them. So my supporters ganged up and said I must compete. The party had not rejected me, either. An example is the just-completed primaries. If my supporters had not wanted me to attempt again, they would have voted me out. But you know the result, it was transparent. So since I didn’t resign from partisan politics, I felt I had a role to play to make sure this country is secure and efficiently managed.

WT: The current government has been criticised, even internationally, for under-performing. Do you think this would make coasting to victory relatively easy for you?

Buhari: Well, certainly they have made more than enough mistakes to be voted out. But most importantly, is for constituencies to be sufficiently mobilised to vote and make sure their votes count. We have the example of Ekiti and Osun, of recent. And we know that the only thing the PDP does is to rig elections, send compromised law enforcement agents to arrest opposition leadership, lock them up, then let them out after the elections. Also, they organised people to snatch boxes. All these have been displayed in court and in previous elections.

WT: What would be the very first action you would take against insurgency if you are elected?

Buhari: First of all, I’ll find out from the main source, the law enforcement agencies, their intelligence reports. What has been going wrong? How is it that fighting insurgents in one corner of Nigeria – the federal government, even with what is being voted for them – is asking the National Assembly to approve a $1billion loan to fight insurgency?

WT: Still on insecurity, you have commented about the Chibok girls’ situation in the past. What would have been your approach?

Buhari: When the Chibok girls were kidnapped, it took weeks before the president even accepted that they were taken. I don’t want to believe the intelligence system of this country has collapsed so badly that a disaster of such magnitude could happen without the president knowing for that long. It’s unbelievable. And of course you can recall the drama with the First Lady. Of course, there is God. There has always been God and there always will be.

WT: Do you ever feel that, with the colossal problems Nigeria is currently facing, you would fall short of expectations?

Buhari: I have my ideas of the needful. But there will be a government in place. If under my leadership, it should comprise of knowledgeable, tried and tested people. As I said earlier, I don’t believe the intelligence community is not sending reports. They’re either being ignored by executives at various levels or we’re not working hard enough. But the important thing is to know the facts on the ground and work around the clock to make sure that you make progress as rapidly as humanly possible.

WT: Corruption is a hot-button topic in Nigeria and some of your backers may have related issues. Wouldn’t your hands be tied when trying to deal with corruption?

Buhari: I try as much as possible not to make myself a hostage. So whoever helped me, as you suggest, to become the party’s flag-bearer, I want to assume he or she did it because they want to give the party the opportunity to win next year’s election, not because they want to hide whatever they may have committed against their country.

WT: Speculation was rife when you picked your running mate, about APC chieftain Bola Tinubu forcing a candidate down your throat. How true is that?

Buhari: Tinubu didn’t force anybody on me. The system is absolutely clear. If your party chooses you, you have got the right to pick. The party picked me as their presidential candidate. There are so many considerations. Support for the party, its constituencies, and the character of the person you recommend. All you do is to ask for names from the party, and they go through the processes, taking into account constituencies in the six geo-political zones.

You can’t have the presidential candidate from the northern political zone and then the vice president from there. It’s not politically acceptable. The party gave me the names and I picked one. Even the PDP accused me for being incompetent, that it took me six days to do it. The APC’s isn’t automatic. We go through a system.

WT: How is your relationship with Tinubu beyond politics and party activities?

Buhari: He’s a committed party member. I think, if not for him and Chief Akande and some of us, the merger wouldn’t have taken place.

WT: Some see your choice of running mate, Osinbajo, as unusual. When did you meet him and why did he become your choice?

Buhari: It wasn’t out of the blues. Who was my last running mate? He was a pastor and a Yoruba man. In 2003 it was Chuba Okadigbo, a Catholic. In 2007, it was Ume-Ezeoke, an Igbo man, a Catholic. In 2011, it was Bakare, a pastor. There’s nothing unusual about them.

Frankly, I met him through [Tinubu]. He brought a team of press men who grilled us for six hours on a Friday. I had to beg them for a Friday mosque break and they allowed me to go pray and come back. He’s a professor of Constitutional Law, has been a Commissioner of Justice and an Attorney General. He’s an intellectual and has got vast experience. Who else do we have better than that?

WT: But there were speculations that Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State or Lagos State’s  Babatunde Fashola would emerge your running mate. Perhaps this is why your choice appeared unusual...

Buhari: To be fair, I defined the candidate’s right to choose his running mate, which is legal. Why should I be harassed for claiming my right? The party gave me the mandate.

WT: People say you were dictatorial when you were Head of State, but the tune seems different today, that then it was Idiagbon who was behind that approach. What was the true picture of things then?

Buhari: Idiagbon, may his soul rest in perfect peace, was very hard-working and loyal. That was his fault, being loyal. He’ll take instructions from me and implement to the letter. And because he refused to smile when he was in office, and was not sparing anybody, they put most of the blame on him. Now that he’s not there and I’m alive, they are shifting the blame to me. He was a committed Nigerian.

WT: What will you say to critics who translated your relationship with Idiagbon to say you’re weak?

Buhari: Give me the chance next year and see whether I’m weak or not.

WT: You just complained about how the society has been reduced to a religious and ethnic affair. What would you do if you become president come 2015?

Buhari: The way I’ll do it is by performance. It’s what is physically on the ground that matters, not what faith you practice. The constitution of the Federal republic of Nigeria says you can belong to any religion or even choose not to. It’s your business. But the fundamental issue of Nigeria is security. 

WT: The young are constantly online these days. Will your presidency be social media-friendly?

Buhari: Yes. I want the government to get to the people. I want an honest assessment of our performance to be conveyed to the public.

WT: What would you say is your philosophy?

Buhari: Social justice. From leadership of your family to whatever you become, make sure there is justice.

source: pulse.ng

WOW 20 Year Old Singer Justin Bieber Buys Himself A Private Jet (Photos)

Justin Bieber made more money in 2014, than all other entertainers under 25 To celebrate Christmas, the 20 year old bought himself a private jet.
He posted the pics on instagram with caption..

New jet for Christmas, and she’s beautiful’.

Meanwhile some fans are slamming him, saying he would be broke before 30 and made a bad decision to buy the jet.Others said he should donate the money to charity instead of buying a jet  … SEE ANOTHER PHOTO 

SHE HAS STARTED AGAIN OO- Cossy Orjiakor strips down to her underwear for sexy Christmas pics (LOOK)

I wonder if these are real or fake b**bs. Oh my God!!! She shared the photos on her Twitter page on Christmas day. Another pic after the cut... 

i will have to confess now Guys this Lady is something else. Wowww she bobbbbbbbby.

Genevieve Nnaji takes a selfie with Asa (LOOK)

When two beautiful and incredibly talented ladies come together, you know what happens next. They make a beautiful memorable picture.

Five Things You Don’t Know About Christmas (and probably should)

As an introductory post I thought I would share a few little known facts about Christmas that I think can make a big difference in how we experience the season today.....

1. Advent is an older Christian practice Than Christmas Is

As many are certainly aware, we are now deep into Advent. Advent is a time of year when the Church prepares itself for the coming of Christ both in the Christmas celebration of the Nativity and in the hope of the Christ’s return. What you may not know is that the Church was doing Advent before the development of a Christmas feast. Although there is no consensus among scholars to exactly how advent came about, one thing is sure; expectation of the Parousia (coming of Christ) in Early Christianity was palpable. A kind of proto-advent seems to have emerged in the early years of the faith, where Christians would fast and pray that their hope of restoration would come to completion in Christ’s reappearance.  This period was eventually attached to Christmas.[1]

What this means for us: It is easy just to think of advent as a time to prepare for Christmas. That, however, is not the point. The reason we look to Christmas during advent is because it reminds us to be alert. God is at work in the world, Christ shows us that; and advent is an affirmation that that work is not yet complete. As Jesus states in Revelation 21:5, “behold I am making all things new.” Are we open to the renewal of God in our own lives? Have we set our eyes on becoming holy? In my lifethe answer to that question is often, “no.” Thankfully we have Advent, which refocuses our lives on the great hope we have, and the call to love that beckons us each day.

2. The Christmas story tells the life story of Jesus, in miniature

Both Matthew and Luke mirror the life of Jesus in their birth accounts. Luke uses his birth account to reflect themes that are included throughout the rest of the Gospel, for example Luke offers three travel narratives toward Bethlehem/Jerusalem in chapter 2. [2] These accounts mirror the travel narrative that guides the central part of Luke’s Gospel, from Luke 9:51 up into his entry into the city at Holy Week. Similarly Matthew offers his own gospel-in-miniature. In his infancy narrative, the leaders in Jerusalem receive the word and reject it (Matt 2:1-7) mirroring (Matthew 26:1-5). Matthew then includes a proto-passion (2:16-18), and even a resurrection account (2:20a) which ends with Jesus in Galilee (2:22-23).[3]

What this means for us: This theme of seeing the whole of the Pascal mystery in the birth narrative is powerful. These stories were told to help the Church better understand the work of God, manifested in Christ. The Christmas stories open our hearts to live out God’s love in the kingdom of God. We are now in a time of year where images of Christ’s birth surround us. Look beyond the diaphanous soft-focus cast upon the synthetic holiday paraphernalia, these over-played motifs have a deeper well. In each Christmas image the melody of salvation is softly being hummed.

3. The Story of Jesus Birth was Propaganda (and that’s awesome)

Luke opens his formal birth narrative by giving an explanation of how it came to be that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. He situates the impetus for travel within a census which is said to have been conducted throughout the whole world, or at least that portion which was under control of the Romans. The use of the “whole world” image employed by Augustus creates a subtle parallel. This Caesar, by making this demand, has made a claim at being the lord of the whole world.  This is contrasted with all the royal language which had just been attributed to Christ in the Magnificat and Canticle of Zechariah. Caesar is the lord of the world through temporal subjugation. Christ, on the other hand, is positioned to be the lord of the world through heavenly mercy (1:54).

When Mary and Joseph finally arrive in “the city of David”, the birth narrative is centered around a manger.  This detail by seems to be very important, since Luke  mentions it three times (2:7, 12, 16). This image is probably rooted in Isa 1:3 which states, “The ox knows its owner, and the ass its master’s crib; but Israel does not know, my people does not understand” (NRSV).^[4] Luke is challenging his hearers to recognize their master’s crib, and the master contained within. It’s not Ceaser, but the Christ child.

It’s also interesting that Luke brings shepherds instead of Magi to honor Jesus. Luke focuses again and again on David, a former shepherd. This makes the focus on shepherds of messianic significance. If this was Luke’s intended connection, however, it didn’t last long. They soon became a representative to commentators as God’s grace to the lowly rather than to the religious elite.[5] Although this is a beautiful notion, the messianic connotations make more sense with the rest of the symbols used by Luke in this pericope.  They remind us of the shepherd King, who established a new dynasty in Israel.

Another element that is often forgotten is the military and imperial connotations of the description of the angels and the angels’ message. They are essentially God’s army, which is promoting a form of counter propaganda. They are stating that “this day” marks a new eschatological shift. They tell the shepherds that there is a new imperial birth. The messianic lord is here, and he is born in the city of David. For a Jewish audience this announcement would be a validation of the beliefs of many that Roman power was illegitimate. For an imperial audience this would be nothing short of high treason.

What this means for us: The Christmas story was a reminder to the Early Christians of where their true allegiance was. They were citizens of a kingdom without borders, and were under a ruler without lands. Their banner was love, their mission was sacrifice, their constitution was proclamation. Let Christmas remind you to build the kingdom of God, and let it free you from our contemporary monarchies of xenophobia, materialism, covetousness, and waste.

4. Christmas isn’t about celebrating the Birth of Jesus

Don’t get me wrong, Jesus’ birth is a significant part of Christmas, but it’s not theprimary point. This can be seen in the Gospel reading for Christmas day, which is John 1:1–18. This passage nowhere mentions Jesus birth account but instead is an account of the eternal generation of Christ and the advent of his light in the world. Christmas is not simply Jesus’ birthday, but a feast of the incarnation.  Christmas is a sacrament; it is a time in which we remember the highest outward sign of the inward grace God offers to the world. God  gives expression of his love in the universal language of flesh and blood, and offers the world a grace that communicates the totality of human existence – humanity itself.

What this means for us: As we are often overwhelmed with the waves of humanity running franticly to prepare for the holiday, it is easy to forget that each person we encounter – from the rude cashier, to the exasperating relative – is a reminder of God’s preferred philological form. God didn’t abandon humanity for their deficiencies instead God entered into the tumult with us.

5. The Magi offer us a Star to Follow

Matthew  2:1-12  focuses on how the gentile’s come to Christ.  They first are observant to the natural world, which tells them of a royal birth through a star (2:2).[6] Next they turn to the Hebrew Scriptures for clarification on what God is doing (2:5-6). Finally they encounter Christ and respond with worship and gifts (2:11).  This trajectory offers a foreshadowing of the great commission – the “world” hears the message of natural revelation given by the star, then is taught by the Old Testament, and finally accepts a kind of proto-gospel by indicating that they accept Christ as their kingly lord.[7]

What this means for us: The Magi remind us of the universal mission of the Gospel. As Psalm 19 reminds us, even the sky proclaims the glory of God.The Magi discovered that. Keep your eyes open for God’s life at work all around you and follow it. Open the scriptures and see what new life emerges. Above all seek Jesus as your king.

Grace and Peace!

""It would be worthless for the Christ to be born one thousand times in Bethlehem if he is not born in our hearts as well.  We have to form Christ within ourselves in order to enter through the doors into the triumphant and victorious city on Palm Sunday. Christmas is a cosmic event that must be performed in each one of us.  The Nativity (Christmas) is absolutely individual.  It is necessary for the Christ to be born in each one of us."

PWBLOG WISH YOU A HAPPY CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION!!!!! CHEERS