Reclaim Christmas! Article for parish magazine
Christmas 2024 Parish Magazine article by Barbara Echlin. Do adapt and use for your local magazine.
As we prepare to celebrate Christmas it should be a time of peace and joy and goodwill to all humankind. The birth of a baby over two thousand years ago in Bethlehem who was to be the saviour of the world. Angels were singing and the Wise Men giving their gifts.
But the world into which Jesus came was not so very different from the one in which we now live. Palestine then, as now, was a place of violence and conflict. The country was a tinderbox ready to go off. Roman soldiers were everywhere. It was indeed an occupied territory. Young babies were killed by Herod after the visit of the Wise Men as they followed that star to the stable. The north and south of the country had a history of continually being at war. As the baby grew into manhood in Nazareth he was just an hour’s walk to Sepphoris, the Roman power centre.
How do we celebrate Christmas in the current situation? Looking at the nativity stories in the gospels the baby Jesus was surrounded by a loving family and in the presence of other creatures the ox and the ass. Friends and neighbours came to share the joy of a new birth in the shape of the shepherds sent to honour the new born child. The Wise Men offered their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Without forgetting the dire straits of so many in our troubled world we can still follow the example of the Holy Family. We can join together with our own families. Build community by inviting the neighbours in – the shepherds came as a group, not as individuals. Make gifts to those in need as well as to friends and family. Consider the wild creatures and put out food for the birds as well as enjoying the companionship of our own pets. Donate to the charities bringing food and medical aid to refugees and to those in war torn countries. And include those who are suffering in our prayers.
Think of that first Christmas and the stable described in Luke’s gospel with the straw, the smell of animals, unwashed visitors from the surrounding countryside. Apart from a brighter-than-usual star glittering through the cracks in the wall, the trappings surrounding the birth of our Lord were about as minimal as you can get. Then look at how we celebrate this moment now. What a gift Christmas is to our consumer society, to an economy dead-set on economic growth whatever the consequences, to a system that relies on the distraction of retail therapy to blind us to both climate and ecological breakdown and the fulfilment of finding joy in enough. For a whole host of ideas on how we can resist this consumerism go to the Green Christian website and type ‘Reclaim Christmas!’ into the search button.
Next: 2024 Annual Members Meeting
Previous: Global Day of Action for Climate Justice
Comments on "Reclaim Christmas! Article for parish magazine"
No comments found.Add your own comment to "Reclaim Christmas! Article for parish magazine"
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Leave a Reply