Advent Calendar XVIII

The great day gets ever closer, and closer I now find it is now only a week away!   I realise that even though I am once again not catering this year there is still stuff I should be doing to be prepared. I have sent out my business Christmas cards, but have not bought any presents, I have the wrapping paper but nothing to put in the parcels.   I have bought some wine to take with me when I go away, but I still need to make a trifle, or at least buy the ingredients to assemble, there always seems to be so much to do!

With all these preparations I begin to worry once again about the pressures on people to conform to the idea of having a good ~ or even worse a perfect Christmas.   It is certainly a time of enforced conviviality which can be very difficult for those who aren't in the mood for celebrations; the hungry; the lonely; the homeless; the bereaved; yet these are the very people that Jesus was born to help.

Right at the beginning of his ministry he visited his home town and was asked to read in the synagogue, the passage he read was from Isiah

"The Spirit of the Lord is on me,

because he has anointed me

to preach good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners

and recovery of sight for the blind,

to release the oppressed,

to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour"

Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing" 

We often say that Christmas is for the children, or maybe a time for family, but if we look at who Christmas is really for it those who are most easily excluded from our celebrations.