Christmas wishes
Our 5 minute speaker, as part of ourlongstanding tradition, for our last meeting of the year was honorary member The Anglican Bishop of Auckland, The Right Reverend Ross Bay. His message on the relevance of the story of Christ's birth t issues being faced today was too good not to share:
This is of course the time to reflect on what has been and to start to look ahead a little. We do so in the context of the great New Zealand summer shut-down which is about to happen, and so the chance for most of us to get some kind of break from work and routine. But we also do so in the context of the great festival of Christmas which is the pivot point around which all of that turns.
We will all put in the hours this week as that approaches. Retailers will do a week of late nights, trying to get an end of year sales boost to supplement a tough year. Economists will watch the eftpos statistics carefully for signs of consumer confidence. And whatever our business we will all be working hard to tie up as many loose ends as possible, all so things can sit on someone else’s desk untouched for three or four weeks in spite of our efforts to get them there.
And then we get to Christmas Day, with all of the meaning that people put into the day, mostly around family and friends and the chance to reconnect around gift giving and food. And perhaps a little church going. For this is one of the great festivals of the Christian year, gathering people of latent faith and deeply conscious faith to celebrate the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, the one whom Christian people believe to be the Saviour of the world. So last night the Cathedral was close to full for the traditional service of nine lessons and carols with just under 1000 people hearing again the story of Christmas through the words of Scripture and the music choir and carols.
The birth narratives of Jesus evoke much from us, both by way of reflection and resulting action. They appear in the gospels of Matthew and of Luke and the writers of them are clearly determined to communicate the humanity of the event within the midst of what they are convinced is a divinely inspired set of events.
The great juxtaposition which they present is the humble nature of the birth of the one who is to be king of the Jews. Born to working class folk from a small town, not the royal family. Born in a stable among the animals, not in a palace surrounded by midwives and attendants. We have somewhat sentimentalised all that with our manger scenes and Christmas card pictures. But the picture given when the story is read carefully is one of great vulnerability. It was a dangerous journey to Bethlehem right at the time that Mary was due to give birth. There was little hospitality given to people who were in great need. They were less than hygienic surroundings for a birth. And then after a time, the child’s life is under threat from a king concerned that his throne might be threatened by the news of the birth of this king.
So an important reflection for me this year as we approach this pivotal event of Christmas, is that of the vulnerability of children in our society. We sadly continue to see that in the statistics relating to child abuse in our country, with New Zealand having one of the worst records in the world with 15% of children estimated to be born at risk of abuse. The Ministry of Social Development reports that there are 20 reported cases of abuse each day and police statistics indicate around 10 children a year are killed by a member of their own family.
Child poverty began to receive more attention during the election campaign. And although I did not see it myself, many people have spoken to me about the impact made on them through a recent TV3 documentary on the subject. I understand it picked up some of the issues that the Child Poverty Action Group have been saying for some time and that are borne out by many of the NGO social service agencies such as the Auckland City Mission whose Board I sit on. While there is no agreed objective measure of poverty in New Zealand, one measure would suggest that 230,000 children live in a situation of deprivation through poor health, diet, schooling, housing, and so on. That’s one in five NZ children. It’s easy just to blame parents and families but statistics like that suggest there are more complex systemic issues at play.
So those are some sobering thoughts stemming from a reflection on the picture of vulnerability which the birth of Jesus offers to us. But as I said, reflection results in action. That is part of a Christian spirituality or worldview. I think it is also part of the Rotary ethos. In launching this year’s Rotary theme “Reach within to embrace humanity”, RI President Kalyan Banerjee talked of developing the strengths within ourselves, “and then unhesitatingly, unflinchingly, go forth and encircle the world, to embrace humanity”. He spoke especially of a focus on projects that support families and the health and wellbeing of children.
In our own society then, we might embrace humanity through the MSD and Families Commission campaign “It’s not OK” as we seek to combat family violence as a society. Governments can do so much, but communities must take ownership if there is really going to be a change.
How might we also embrace work being done to reverse the poverty trends in our nation? Certainly the support we might give to local community food banks and the City Mission can offer immediate help to those who need it. But perhaps we might also consider how we could participate in the work which will be done by the Ministerial Committee on Poverty being established as part of a strategy to combat poverty. I welcome that decision and look forward to its first report in the middle of next year. The Deputy PM has already indicated that there is no more money to invest in welfare, so I hope that some of the deeper structural societal issues are examined along with the impact of overall government policy.
Looking back and looking forward, reflection and a commitment to fresh action. Christmas offers the pivot point for that process in our lives each year. The vulnerability of the birth of Jesus Christ can speak to our lives as we seek to contribute to the well being of vulnerable children in our society. May Christmas and the summer holidays offer you room for that kind of reflection, for a reaching inward to renew the strengths that are within, bringing forth a fresh commitment to reach out and embrace humanity.