My Christmas tree is twinkling, the present list has been ticked off and I’ve just taken my once-a-year fruit cake out of the oven, so it must be nearly Christmas. Somehow 2023 slid past me while I was sitting on the edge, trying to make sense of a world where distant countries were being overtaken by adjoining land and power hungry regions and, our own countries’ refusal to give voice to its First Nation people, climate disasters, housing shortages and supermarket price hikes. And God was there, is there, in the midst of it all.
Somewhere in the sodden, muddy mess the volunteer glimpsed already wrapped Christmas presents. He tried not to look as he threw them into the truck.
The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. (John 1:14)
They were a young couple, hovering over a pram, oblivious to the shopping crowds, overcome with the wonder and the responsibility of their first born.
The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. (John 1:14)
It didn’t look much – a few trees, a nearly dry creek bed, a pile of stones sheltering the remains of a fire. She let out a deep, satisfied breath. This was her country.
The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. (John 1:14)
The Vinnie van was bright with Christmas decorations. Surreptitiously he slid a red bauble into his pocket. It reminded him of home; back when he had a home.
The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. (John 1:14)
An elderly woman sits in the tumble of stone and brick that used to be her home. It’s cold. A young soldier stands helplessly by.
The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. (John 1:14)
He comes with a bunch of flowers and a bottle of wine his yearly contribution to Christmas lunch. Family, what is left of it, is half a world away. Today, this is his family.
The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. (John 1:14)
The house across the road is lit up with Christmas lights. His wife liked them and he never really understood why. Now she’s gone, and he misses the joy that she brought with her.
The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. (John 1:14)
There was a Christmas tree in the lounge room of their new house and the two girls decorated it with cut-out foil stars while their baby brother and his mother were asleep. “This year,” they said, “there might even be presents on the tree.”
The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. (John 1:14)
He is their father. He rocks back and forth, lost in grief, as he holds their wrapped bodies close to his heart. Why can’t we keep our children safe?
The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. (John 1:14)
“The time came for Mary to have her child and she gave birth to a son, wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them at the inn.” (Luke 2:6,7)
The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. (John 1:14)
May Peace be your gift this Christmas. Judith
Words From The Edge 