A Christmas Call to Remember the Least
This Advent, while we are busy with our services of worship and celebration, let us also remember Christ’s call to help and care for the least, the last and the lost.
Deacon for Social Justice, Chris Frazer writes …
Isaiah (58:10-14 ) reminds us to ‘Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon. The LORD will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength’.
For the 21st century ‘’Tis the season to be jolly’, more easily translates to ‘tis the season to be spending’ as the coming of Christmas heralds the biggest yearly shopping spree.
Christmas has become a marketing frenzy of rampant consumerism, which adversely affects an ever-increasing number of people/families struggling to get by on incomes that fail to meet basic living costs.
The pressure of media advertising plays a significant part in determining the cost of Christmas for many families. Seasonal advertising aimed at children serves to heighten their hopes of what Santa might bring, resulting in undue pressure being put on parents to purchase gifts well beyond their financial means.
Accordingly, the cost of Christmas is extended well into the New Year, as parents, already struggling to meet daily living costs, are faced with overdue accounts and increased credit card or loan repayments.
While for many people the holiday season is a chance to relax, to enjoy the company of family and friends and an opportunity to show our love and appreciation through giving, there are many for whom Christmas is a lonely, sad and stressful time.
A recent news release from the children’s charity, Variety, graphically highlights the reality of poverty for so many NZ families this coming Christmas when they state that, “For 1 in 6 Kiwi kids living in New Zealand’s poorest communities, food is all they’re wishing for this Christmas. This reality transforms the most wanted gift of the season from the latest toy or gadget, into a humble slice of pavlova or a simple hot dinner. These kids yearn for the things that most of us take for granted.”
Variety’s 2023 Christmas campaign is inspired by actual letters to Santa These letters outline the children’s simple wish for a delicious meal to bring some festive spirit to Christmas day.’
Bringing this into our Diocese today, how can we respond with open hearts and serve the least among us?
With Christ as our guide help us to become more aware of the isolation and loneliness of many of our neighbours. Ways of reaching out may include,
Sharing your Christmas Day with a lonely neighbour
Create or attend a neighbourhood carols event, inviting those on your street, to strengthen your connection with others
Phone a relative, friend or neighbour you know who will be living alone this Christmas
The giving of a card or gift or a few moments of your time to wish them a Merry Christmas
Donate goods of food and toys for distribution to families in need. The Wellington City Mission’s Star Box appeal is a great way to give food and toys to many families.
Lastly, in the words of the carol, ‘Love came down at Christmas’; let us all do whatever we can to ‘Pass on’ that love in tangible ways to others this coming Christmas and into 2024.
Christmas is forever, not just for one day,
For loving, sharing, giving, are not to put away like bells and lights and tinsel, in some box upon a shelf. The good you do for others, is the good you do yourself.
Norman Brooks
By Rev Chris Frazer, Deacon for Social Justice
