Christmas has always had the habit of landing itself in the middle of political mess and financial issues. I suppose it all started with Mary and Joseph going to be 'taxed' in Bethlehem, and nearly ended when cruel King Herod sacrificed the lives of many babies to protect his political power.
Sadly, little has changed. Christmas still arrives, with the simple story of the birth of Jesus Christ, in the midst of the political confusion and economic turmoil of the world. We look back, this December, to a year when there has been a good deal of uncertainty in our political life in Northern Ireland. We celebrate Christmas this time round, in a slightly less materialistic way, in the midst of a 'Credit Crunch', the like of which most of us have never seen in our lifetime. And we look towards the report of the Consultative Group on the Past in January, which is bound to face some of us with our own demons.
All the more amazing, then, that it is the Message of Christmas, with all its simplicity, weakness and apparent frailty which has outlasted so many political, financial and 'powerful' systems, and which still has the ability to remind us of what is truly important and eternal.
Reflection;
Poverty is a terrible thing. It disempowers people, starves children, and marginalises entire communities. We have Millennium Development Goals for its global reduction which are not likely to be met by the target date of 2015, and we find ourselves again with the real spectre of increased poverty here in our own Province in the coming years. Such a possibility comes to us as a real shock, because we have inhabited a world in which our wealth has been increasing, and now suddenly find our society thrown into reverse with the Credit Crunch. None of us would have allowed ourselves to imagine this at the beginning of 2008.
The first Christmas is also about poverty. It is about a Baby born in the poorest and most miserable of circumstances - among the animals in a stable in the apparently insignificant town of Bethlehem. That event, like most of the events in the lives of poor people, happened in the background with no-one noticing - until God intervened, and caught the attention of the shepherds out in their fields at night. Societies, cities and towns have ways of keeping the poorest on the edge, out of full public view, so that others can get on with their lives uninterrupted and undisturbed.
The Church can sometimes do the same, but can also, at times of the deepest poverty, come out at its very best. I want to encourage all who name the name of Christ this Christmas to open our eyes to the needs of the world, both globally and locally. I do that with a sense of passion, because my own mother grew up in poverty after her father died when she was five years of age. It was, in fact, the church and other Christian societies in inner city Belfast, which cared for her and her two brothers when their mother was thrown into a state of penury.
I also want to thank Christian organisations like St Vincent de Paul and the Salvation Army, to name but two, for the way they are constant reminders to us at Christmas time of the needs of those who have least. They incarnate the Good News which Jesus Christ brings specifically to the poor and are an example to all of us. Another example is the ‘Black Santa' Appeal at St Anne's Cathedral, which movingly catches the imagination of so many, from children to old people, who come with their gifts and gladly present them to be used for those less well off than themselves.
The year ahead is going to be a real challenge to all in our society to notice those who are being devastated most by our new financial world, and to ensure that their needs are met. Churches are particularly well placed to be involved in this because they are deeply rooted in local communities, and have many resources which can be used.
The Christmas story is also a challenge to all who are relatively well-off this Christmas, but who might be inclined just to give that little bit less to charity, because of financial uncertainty. This is actually the time to give more - the need is greater! Our example is Jesus Christ who, though he was rich, with all the glory and splendour and wealth of heaven, yet for our sake became poor, and poured out everything, so that we might have true spiritual riches in him.
+ Harold Down and Dromore
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Sotto Voce
(Source: DDC)