The Call of Christ | Fr. Kevin Hunt
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photo: christine hatfull
ur seasonal theme for this edition of PAX is taken from the now traditional Bidding Prayer written in 1918 for the Service of Nine Lessons and Carols at King’s College, Cambridge, by the then Dean, Eric Milner-White. We used an adapted form at our Advent Carols here at St James’: “And because this of all things would rejoice his heart, let us remember, in his name, the poor and helpless, the cold, the hungry and the oppressed; the sick and them that mourn, the lonely and the unloved, the aged and the little children; all those who know not the Lord Jesus, or love him not or who by sin have grieved his heart of love.” Milner-White wrote in the aftermath of the First World War, when there were countless numbers of homeless and hungry, wounded and bereaved, including, of course, many in Canada: Dark times, indeed, in need of the light of Christ, which shines in the darkness and which the darkness cannot overcome. This Christmastide we too live in dark times, and the world is in desperate need of the light and peace of Christ.
The West is still reeling from the impact of the ISIL terrorist outrage in Paris. There is heightened tension between Christian and Muslim in several countries in Africa. The Middle East continues to be torn apart by violent conflict, in the Holy Land, Iraq and Syria. As PAX goes to press the news and social media are focused on the 25,000 Syrian refugees to be hosted in Canada (one family sponsored in part by St James’). Will this huge immigration be safe? Is Canada able to afford this? Where can we find room? Canada is justifiably proud of its reputation for offering hospitality to newcomers and outsiders: long may it remain so. How many remember that the Holy Family were refugees in Egypt, according to St. Matthew’s Gospel? The Egyptian Coptic Church still today regards it as a mark of honour that Joseph, Mary, and the child Jesus were made welcome and found safety there, when then, as now, there was traditional hostility between the Jewish and Egyptian peoples. Here at home St James’ is set in the midst of the Downtown Eastside, a lively and vibrant community beset by the social challenges of poverty, homelessness, addiction and mental health issues, but which also demonstrates mutual support, care and solidarity. It is this broken, divided and messy world which God loved so much that he chose in the person of his Son to enter into it and to make himself vulnerable; to become one of us, a human being; to share our life, with its joys and its trials; to share even our death, so that we might have a share in his divine life: “The Child of God became the child of man so that the children of men might become the Children of God.” This is the mystery Christians celebrate at Christmas, God revealing his glory through this humility, this self-giving of his Son. As God so loved then, still he continues to love this broken, messy, and divided world. He longs now as he did then for all to respond in love and service—of God and neighbour. He calls the Church, the Body of Christ, to live with his life and to love with his selfgiving love. Are we ready to answer the call, to take the risk? PAX: Christmas 2015 | 1