The Birth of Christ: A Miraculous Unveiling of the Veil for All Humanity
“A light that will reveal the veil for the nations and bring glory to your people Israel.”
Gospel of Luke 2:32
In this article, we will briefly address historical events that both occurred in the month of Dey. The first event is the birth of Christ, coinciding with the 4th of Dey 1401 in the Persian calendar and December 25, 2022 in the Gregorian calendar. The second event is the anniversary of the ratification of the law of unveiling on the 17th of Dey 1314 in the Persian calendar by the National Consultative Assembly, during the time of Reza Shah Pahlavi. You understood correctly! I intend to make a comparison between two rulers whose names are in some way related to the subject of “unveiling.”
The first unveiling led to a miraculous change in the fallen world of humanity and became the foundation of human history, yet the second unveiling faced failure; because the true veil is not on the body, but on the heart and soul of humanity.
Laurence Lockhart, an English historian and Iran scholar, once said: “The first step in changing any society is to change the clothing of that society.”
Perhaps with such a perspective, 87 years ago with the decree of Reza Shah Pahlavi and the ratification of the unveiling law, it seemed that finally the attainment of equal civil and citizenship rights for women, after centuries, had been realized in the era of Iran’s modernization, and was seen as the beginning of the presence of Iranian women in social arenas and the emergence of an educated generation to assume managerial positions.
Shortly before that, the Pahlavi hat and suit had also been worn by Iranian men, and alongside modern scientific education that had been pursued much earlier in schools whose establishment had been initiated by Christian missionaries, it seemed a glorious era awaited the Iranian people.
Alas and regrettably, the true veil is not on the body of humanity, but on their heart and mind, and removing it is neither the work of an educational system, nor of religions, nor achievable by force of arms and cossacks. The establishment of a modern system by a progressive monarchy might culminate in having nationwide railways, modern judiciary, and universities; but the study of Iran’s history of the recent century proves that unless the human mind becomes renewed, it will not achieve true freedom and progress. The cessation of this movement, 87 years later by an Islamic reactionary government that has been ruthlessly engaged for years in the slaughter of the sons and daughters of this land merely for seeking freedom, showed that changing hats and clothes and studying in the West could never change the thoughts of the people. This is the consequence of the rule of earthly monarchs.
But the birth of Christ speaks of the coming of Christ into the world. Christmas is about the arrival of a time about which the ancient prophets had prophesied. Yes! Christmas brings the good news of the appearance of a kingdom that shone as a light upon the nations of the world and illuminated the minds of those who accepted him, and as written in the Holy Scripture: “A light that will reveal the veil for the nations…”
The veil that was created between humanity and God through sin and blocked the path of return to the presence of the Creator. Removing this veil, according to countless prophecies of the prophets, became possible through a kingdom of a different kind. A kingdom that with its eternal love entered a world full of tyranny and oppression of humans. A place where walls of hatred and enmity, racism and gender discrimination separated everyone from each other. He demolished these walls and broke the chains of slavery and brought a true and liberating unveiling for all the nations of the world; not in the sense of changing clothes but changing thought and faith.
In Christian society, there is no slave or free, and no male dominance. All are equal before Christ. Jesus did not leave women behind walls and in captivity to gaze upon the freedom of men and regret. Christ made women useful, effective, and active members in a transformed society; because all are equal and valuable to him, and to achieve this goal, he removed the veil and impurity from eyes and hearts.
Iran in these days is more severely the target of vile deceptions and demonic hatred that has deprived our beloved people of any freedom, and the Church feels this shared pain more than ever before. While the Church Council 222 sympathizes with our beloved people, it has not merely confined itself to prayer but is engaged in service, and even if only to a small extent, in the hands of our God it will receive blessings beyond measure.
If in these days of anticipating the birth of Christ you desire freedom and yearn for something the world has not provided, the Church’s good news for you is that perhaps this yearning is a gift of Christmas from God; a God who wishes to prepare you so that you may see that in Christ there is solace and salvation, so that you may know him as he truly is and believe in him. May you accept this incomparable gift of Christmas and to the extent you are able, give it to others as well. Amen.
Author: Pejman Safaee
