I agree, it is Christmas “message” time folks! But firstly how about having a round of Quiz? Which is your favorite Tintin comic? Do I hear the answers… Tintin in Tibet, Crab with the Golden claws etc., etc. Some would confide, any comic with Captain Haddock (most spicy character) in it. Well, my favourite? Red Rackham’s treasure (with Captain Haddock in all his pristine glory), which is actually a juicy sequel of yet another Tintin thriller namely The Secret of the Unicorn.
Before it gets more curious (what has Tintin comics to do with yours truly’s Christmas message?) acquiring the contours of a full-fledged Tintin mystery, let me share with you through this two-part series that there is something common between Red Rackham’s treasure and the Christmas message, many of us go “treasure-hunting for”? Still, do not understand? Let me explain.
Where exactly do Tintin and his friends eventually discover the “sunken” invaluable treasure? In the Ocean depths? Nay!!! Literally and figuratively under their very noses… in the Marlinspike Hall!!! By the same token, do we not search far and wide trying to figure out the significance of Christmas, when it is right in front of our very eyes. In fact, one need not go any further than this Yuletide-related Scripture portion:
“And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” (Matt 1:21). Jesus means the Savior. Pure and simple. Message is in all the name, really. To attribute Jesus’ birth to any other reason other than the clearly stated Biblical reason would be diluting the significance of Christmas. Nothing more, nothing less, Nothing else!!!
Why do we need a Saviour, if we aren’t in trouble? The main trouble in the World is not violence, corruption nor immorality. They are mere manifestations of the deeper malaise… sin, which entered mankind the moment our first parents sank their teeth into the forbidden (Romans 5:12). That is why one Biblical scholar with Jeremiah 17:9 in his mind remarked at the heart of all human problems is the sinfulness of the human heart.
Prayer: Father, give us all wisdom that the fundamental truth revolving around Christmas does not slip by without we noticing it. In my Saviour Jesus’ Name, I pray. Amen
Suresh Manoharan
J and SM Ministries
(To access the entire “Tin Tin and Christmas” mini-series, please click here.)