These are deeply troubling times for Malta. As we enter the last few days of Advent, we must hope sincerely that the one person, Joseph Muscat, who can bring a truce to the current political crisis acts in the interests of the greater good of his citizens, who are desperately seeking a period of tranquillity and calm over the Christmas holidays.

More than at any other, this is a time for everyone to display the betterangels of their character by confronting hatred with tolerance and dispelling fear with hope.

The nativity of Jesus Christ marks the birth of Christianity. As we celebrate the story of Mary and Joseph’s arduous journey from Nazareth along the valley of the River Jordan, past Jerusalem to Bethlehem, we should take some time from our family parties and present giving to recall that this world-changing event was simply the prelude to the life of one of the world’s greatest leaders.

Jesus Christ was a simple man of humble origin. But the essence of his story is that he was one of the most charismatic leaders of all time.

The story is well known to us, but bears recalling as we celebrate Christmas. Jesus was born in Roman-ruled Palestine during the reign of Emperor Augustus. He grew up in Nazareth and became an itinerant preacher for three years, during which he gathered many followers attracted by his interpretation of Jewish law and the miracles he performed.

The ministry of Jesus Christ did not begin until he was about 30 years of age and little is known of his childhood and youth. But we know that he was often alone, in the wilderness and elsewhere, during which period of focus and concentration he received the enlightenment and determination to found his religion.

His teaching, healing and the performance of miracles drew large numbers of followers, as well as the attention of religious and political leaders who saw him as a threat to stability in Roman-occupied Palestine.

Leadership is a battle for the hearts and minds of men. It is human beings – men and women – who are the factors of reality in the world. Christ showed that once you can win hearts and minds, the greatest achievements are possible. As the founder of the Christian religion, he attracted people to him, his Apostles and others, who understood human nature and had that spark of inspiration in them which appealed to men and women and persuaded them to follow.

Despite Malta’s current tribulations, Christmas should give us hope

Jesus Christ’s work has lasted for over two millennia and Jesus, the man, heads any global list of great leaders. In historical terms he is seen variously as a moral reformer, a political revolutionary, a Palestinian peasant and a charismatic rabbi. In the Gospels, he is characterised as someone with immense personal authority and miraculous powers as a prophet.

At the same time, he is portrayed as living a life without material security or family support, often mixing with the poor and society’s outcasts – constantly teaching that he would be rejected by the authorities and that he would be persecuted, suffer and die in order to fulfil God’s purpose.

He was a man who had willpower and great powers of concentration, qualities which are essential in a leader. The constant exercise of this ability made Christ a disciplined human being. It enabled him to simplify a problem by reducing it to its essentials and to discover the key issues on which all his future actions would be based.

But he also had the capacity for decision, a pre-requisite in any leader. Inhis case, single-minded resolution was necessary before he emerged to begin his crusade to lay down a way of life for all humanity.

His criticism of Jewish religious leaders and warnings of the imminence of God’s rule replacing human rule provoked opposition from the Jewish and Roman establishments. While Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea he was sentenced to death by crucifixion, a form of execution used by the Romans on those who threatened Roman authority. Christians believe him to have risen from the dead and to be the Son of God, through whom God revealed himself to the world and whose death reconciles the world to God.

It is these earth-shaking events in the subsequent life of the baby born in a manger in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago that we recall and celebrate today. Christmas offers us the opportunity to relax and to reflect on the indefinable aspects of our religious faith. It reminds us, down the tunnels of the last few hundred years of history and progress, that there is a human hunger for more than the presents or worldly goods that we exchange at this time of the year.

Human beings need to acknowledge, sift, consider and find good uses for the words and ideas handed down to us by Jesus in his lifetime. Our Christian religion has laboured, studied and provided shafts of enlightenment and beauty.

But in itself faith has often expressed hope and beauty. Centuries of art, music and worship have shown us that while man-made religious rules can sometimes be absurd, generations have searched for a mystery beyond life.

Early last year, I visited Rome for a few days. I was most fortunate to go to an exhibition at the Borghese Gallery of the sculptures of Gian Lorenzo Bernini, perhaps the greatest ever Baroque sculptor. On display, was one of his most outstanding works, completed in 1679 just before his death. It is of the Salvator Mundi, a marble bust representing the Saviour, the shoulders wrapped in a silk-looking mantle, a very handsome face framed by flowing hair and the right hand raised in a blessing.

Despite Malta’s current tribulations, Christmas should give us hope. We reflect with those we love and care about. We share the spirit of the occasion with strangers. Most of us try to spread some of our good fortune with those who may be hungry or lonely at this time.

As this is my last column before Christmas Day when newspapers are not published, may I wish all my readers a peaceful Christmas.