Christimas reflections

now that I have seen, I am responsible
faith without deeds is dead

my thoughts are far away this Christmas, as I remember the humble birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. Today, as I think about Bethlehem and the circumstances in which Jesus was born: the obedience of Mary, the quiet strength of Joseph, the hope of the wisemen, and the love of God’s grace come down….I cannot help but think about what is quiet, unspoken, and often overlooked by the rose-coloured glasses of my own middle-class Canadiana.

My thoughts begin with the displacement of my own neighbours…those who are without a home in Vancouver on this Christmas Day. The pain of the blistering wind and rain, an empty stomach, and a lack of medical attention…these are the people that Christ came for.

I think of Kandahar, and the Canadian soldiers who are spending Christmas on foreign soil. I think of the Afghani people and what it might be like to live under military occupation. I cannot begin to fathom what those restrictions may be like…and the fear it must instill in the hearts of mothers and fathers who only want what’s best for their children. These are the people that Christ came for.

I think of families who still suffer the consequences of weather-related disasters (although much of what happened thereafter was caused by human hands) of years past: brothers and sisters and friends who have lost their homes due to the tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, and countless other disasters. These are the people that Christ came for.

I think of Burma, and the oppressive military rule that the Burmese people live under every day. No freedom of speech seems like such a foreign concept to the Western world, but it continues to be a life/death struggle for many. To add further chaos, violence is not even Burma’s biggest killer. As I was reading the Tyee this morning, I learned that malaria is in actuality the largest cause of death in the country. The military regime makes it particularly difficult for the Burmese to receive treatment, and many die just from a lack of access to the hospital. These are the people that Christ came for.

These are only fragments of the world…there are millions more stories to be told. For me, they serve as a humbling reminder to what God’s hope is all about…made possible through the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.