The Paper – Editorial November 2012 -
The Spirit of Christmas
What would we do without Christmas! It is the sort of safety pressure valve in
the flow of life that opens up the lines and relieves the pressure that builds
up from the year’s activities!
It is interesting that the recognition
of Christmas as a time to encourage us to think of what might be termed “the
more enduring” qualities of life has been around for a long time. We still see, for example, Ebenezer Scrooge
(the Charles Dickens character in his story A
Christmas Carol written in 1843) displayed in the David Jones Store windows,
depicting so effectively the struggle each of us still faces in 2012 – how to
gain the right balance between materialism and idealism, in which we acknowledge
a greater joy in giving than in receiving.
Many readers may be familiar with the
story in the Bible about the two sisters Mary and Martha. (1) Jesus had come to visit, and Martha was busy
with the preparations, whilst Mary sat paying attention to, and listening to
the visitor. Finally Martha could stand
it no longer! She knew that Jesus was a
fair person, and had a good work ethic, so she approached Him, asking him to
tell Mary to start pulling her weight around the house! However, the response was not as Martha had anticipated
– Jesus explained that there is a need to balance the important responsibility
of doing things that have to be done against the need for fellowship and
communication and for setting our mind to think about issues beyond the
everyday world in which we live. Whilst
He tried not to take sides, and recognised the need for both roles, He did seem
to come down on Martha for wanting to deny Mary the opportunity of “stopping to
smell the roses”!
Each of us should be careful this
Christmas season that we do not let the things that have to be done so dominate
our activities that we deny ourselves the opportunity to enjoy the festivities,
and we forget to consider what it is all about. As mentioned earlier the process of
Christmas as a time to enjoy the company of others, to do things with our
friends and to review the real issues of life has been accepted for a long time. How we actually do it varies with the world
around us – how we buy the presents, who we visit, what meals we prepare - these
all change from generation to generation, but the real purpose of Christmas should
be for each to relax, relate and seek to realise within ourselves the most
important issues of life.
To Christians, of course, Christmas is
the time when we celebrate the birthday of the baby Jesus (even though some may
question the accuracy of the date). In
Him, we believe, was the physical manifestation of God, the Creator of the
Universe. In celebrating His birth in a
stable we see an extreme demonstration of humility, which continued throughout
His historic life ending in the sacrifice of His own self, even though the
Roman Governor had openly said he found no fault in Him! The reasoning behind these activities is
beyond our human abilities to understand, but in believing and accepting them
we find a connection with something beyond our earthy limitations that enables
us to more fully appreciate values different from those which predominate in
the immediate material World around us. No wonder Christmas is an important time for
Christians!
We wish you all a happy Christmas and a
prosperous 2013. We would like to invite
you to visit a Church in your local Community over this Christmas period, to
talk about the Christian perspectives behind the birth, death, resurrection and
ascension of Jesus Christ. See Church
Notices in this Paper for times of Meetings at the Christian Israelite Church
in Campbell Street – a Church which has been in continuous service in this
Community for 160 years - since 1853.
(1)
Those interested may like to read the account
in their own Bible in Luke chapter 10, verses 38 to 42.
Rodney Gray – Pastor Christian Israelite Church, 196
Campbell Street, Sydney (www.cichurch.com)
.
