THOUGHTS
CHRISTMAS Reflections
| By Lead Chaplain, Jim Wright
M
y brother-in-law was staying with us over Christmas one year when he received a text message from a close friend to say that just before Christmas her house had been burgled, and all her gifts for people and a lot of her own household stuff had been taken. She wasn’t having “A Merry Little Christmas.” At this time of year, when TV adverts try their best to focus us on a cosy, sentimental sanitised version of Christmas, it is hard when the harsher realities of life breaks through the thin veneer of the Christmas commercials and reminds us of how cruel the world we live in can sometimes be. However, it so easy to forget the fact that the original Christmas narrative is a story full of hardship: a pregnant unmarried teenager, miles from home because of a decree from the occupying dictatorship that has invaded her country. Giving birth amongst the farm animals, news of the birth of her son reaches a prideful and jealous king, who had heard that this new-born baby was being called ‘King’ and ‘Messiah’. There was only room for one king and King Herod wanted it to be him. He orders his soldiers on a murderous rampage of the area’s young boys, in order to ensure that there is no rival to his throne. Forewarned of a massacre, the family are uprooted once again, fleeing for their lives and seeking refuge and asylum across the border in Egypt. Now, I certainly don’t want to put a dampener on anyone’s festivities this Christmas, but I do worry about the pressure put on families and individuals, especially after being assured by Andy Williams’ again and again and again that “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” My fear is that, if we’re not having a wonderful time, then we may begin to think that there is something wrong with us. The adverts would have us believe that the perfect Christmas can be had by buying the right food or the perfect present.
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