Christmas is almost upon us and summer in Australia is in full furnace-like swing. It’s a far cry from the snow-bound Christmases of my home country Germany, but the sounds and the smells of an Aussie Christmas have an allure all of their own.
Of course, it’s not all cricket and prawns on the barbie. Australia’s Christmas traditions have been enriched over the years by the people from many different cultures who have made their home here and who do Christmas in their own special ways.
But the one thing we have in common is the reason for the season. Although we know from the Census results released earlier this year that fewer Australians are identifying with a religion, and Christmas is becoming both more secular and more commercial, there is, I think, still a longing for the peace and joy heralded by the angels to the shepherds in the fields so long ago.
The birth of the Christ-child is not a fable but the seminal event in human history that changed the world. It was God becoming one of us – God-with-us. This central truth of the Nativity is still mind-blowing and for those who will accept it, also life-changing.
The fact that God became one of us and one with us, shows us how we too can approach Christmas. Instead of spending up a storm at the shopping malls, let us instead seek out the lost and lonely, or those on the margins and be God-with-them. As we celebrate the birth of the Christ child, we can be Christ for others, simply by reaching out and being with them.
For many years, the Divine Word Missionaries have been involved with the Christmas celebrations of Cana Communities in Sydney.
In years past, on Christmas Eve in Redfern Park, a group of people – some of whom live with mental or physical illness or are at risk, with nowhere to go, and others who are volunteers - gathered to share the Eucharist and a meal together.
The volunteers not only helped serve the meal, but sat down and shared it with those attending. It was a gathering that brought people together in a celebration of shared humanity. The mental health issues of some of those attending meant that you never knew what to expect at the Cana Communities Christmas gathering. In fact, we came to expect the unexpected. But the simple act of just ‘being with’ brought to life the real meaning of Christmas. This year, Cana Communities will celebrate Christmas in a different but equally beautiful way.
I will spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day celebrating Masses with Sydney's Slovak community, to whom I am chaplain. Other Divine Word Missionaries in our Province will spend this special time with other ethnic communities, in parishes, or with confreres.
May the birth of the Christ-child open your heart this year to the miracle of ‘God-with-us’ in your life and the life of your family.
From us here at the Divine Word Missionaries, we thank you for your support and friendship in 2017 and wish you every blessing for the Christmas season.
Yours in the Word
Fr Henry Adler SVD
Provincial