Messiah: Birth and subversive praxis

by Levy Abad

What do I write about this Christmas 2025? Having attended the National Migrant Workers Forum on November 16, 2025, at the Bulman Centre, made me think of the relevance of Christmas to the lives and struggles of thousands of migrants dispersed around the world in search of a better life. Modern-day migrants’ dispersal is brought about by neo-liberalism, a contemporary manifestation of neocolonialism / semi-feudalism, as in the Philippine context. Similarly, in the first century, empire and persecution pushed people to leave. The New Testament tells of the journey of Joseph, Mary and the baby Jesus (Yeshua) to migrate and hide in Egypt to escape Herodian persecution (Mat 2:13). The move to Egypt of the Holy Family saved Jesus from Herod, tetrarch and the puppet of the Roman empire’s attempt to finish Him off in Matthew 2:16-18 (Massacre of the Innocents). Herod fears that Jesus, when He grows up, will replace him as the King of Israel, like David or even deeper, the promised Messiah as foretold in the Tanakh (Hebrew scripture).

A biblical prophecy found in Isaiah 7:14 says, “Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” Immanuel means God is with us and will tabernacle in this world to save humanity from sin, both spiritual and temporal, such as the worship of idols like injustices, greed, and selfishness. Furthermore, in Micah 5:2 (NIV), it says, “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.” The birth of Jesus is the realization of John 3:16, the salvific promise of God of eternal life for believers.

Messianic threat and Herodian reaction

As a baby, Jesus already made Herod tremble at the thought of His birth. The mere idea of a Son of God being born and doing His will of laying down the foundations of His Kingdom “on earth as it is in heaven,” instantly subverts the darkness or the evil social structures of the Roman Empire. No wonder almost all His disciples were murdered, except for John of Patmos, for preaching about the Kingdom of God, characterized by Love, Mercy, Compassion and Justice in a world dominated by imperial greed and violence, and the worship of Caesar as the “son of god.” They remind me of priests, pastors and activists murdered by regimes for standing up and fighting for a better world where compassion reigns.

Subversive praxis

The young Jesus already threatened Herodian subservience to Roman rule. Later on, Jesus would announce the beginning of His praxis in the synagogue of Capernaum by reading from the scroll of Isaiah, “The Spirit of the Lord has been given to me for He has anointed me to bring good news to the poor, liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind and to proclaim the Lord’s year of favour” (Luke 4:18-19). This is the paradigm of Jesus’ social ministry or praxis, and He challenged His disciples/apostles to work and set this in motion by announcing “the good news to the poor,” which, according to liberation theologians, can be bad news to the rich and powerful.

I remember passages in the New Testament where Jesus went around the countryside, in depressed areas of Israel, to teach about the new exodus or release from captivity, to feed and heal the oppressed, spiritually and materially. Eventually, He would enter Jerusalem and announce deliverance from evil and all its spiritual and historical dimensions. This announcement of deliverance through repentance questioned the ideology of most of the corrupt teachers and leaders of His time. Ticked by the declaration of Jesus as the Son of God and Messiah, a few powerful enemies of Jesus organized a trial at night to betray Him, leading to His crucifixion. Nevertheless, as foretold, there was the resurrection of the Messiah and all who trusted and cooperated in ushering the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven.

One day, when the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:2) comes down with the new earth and new heaven (Revelation 21), Jesus will live together with all the martyrs and saints in the world to come. Shalom in the Messiah. Merry Christmas!