I shall miss the Chasers from the ABC (Australia). Not all their stunts came off, of course, but there were a few classic masterpieces that I shall remember for their insight.
Once they gate crashed an AGM of one of those banks and made an appeal for its CEO to hire an unemployed bank worker. One of the Chasers read out the salary rate required, assessing that it would only cost this CEO his lunch- money. I think the CEO squirmed all the way back to his stockbroker.
Nothing infuriates us more than greed, and there is plenty of it about to get infuriated about. A group of billionaires was once interviewed and they were asked what they looked forward to in life. Their reply was simple and unanimous, “More!” Nothing scares us more than those who can never get enough, because we know that a lot of others are going to have to pay for it.
I do not have to relate to you the images of poverty brought to us from too many parts of the world. Your TV has the same channels as mine. Basic necessities for life are wanting for too many while we are embarrassed by choice and instant access. “What do we want?” “More!” “When do we want it?” “Now!” That sense of entitlement is growing whatever it costs others, and it does cost.
Advent is the time when we remind ourselves of the coming of Jesus and his new world order. I cannot find an instance where what Jesus wanted cost anyone else but himself. People who came to him were uplifted, often literally. He healed, he restored, he resurrected. Whoever approached Jesus benefited. Our own lives become enriched because his spirit comes to us. We become freed from the addiction to aggregate what we can. His spirit enables us to reach out to others so they are lifted up. We are lifted up when we act to lift others up, even as we know Jesus lifts us up. Eat your heart out, Gordon Gecko of “Wall Street”!
This is why the Christmas Bowl keeps working. During Advent we hear the stories of the way it does work, of how Jesus, through us, keeps uplifting those around the world who have experienced so little hope in their surroundings. We are not pouring endless resources down a bottomless pit. We are kick-starting others into possibilities for them to get going for themselves, just as Jesus himself kept kick-starting so many into life.
The lepers were made clean, the blind could see, a hand up was literally given to those on their sick-beds. We may not get to do anything so spectacular, but a little girl who is enabled to read, a family enabled to earn their own living, a village given access to clean water, and those who live in fear given hope, are a few examples of a hand-up that we have given and can continue to give.
Jesus’ coming is something we can still become excited about. We know his entry into human affairs keeps giving human beings that jump-start in life. There is more impacting to go, and we who have been impacted by him, now pass on that impact wherever we can.
That baby in the manger grew to give up more than his lunch-money to make this happen. That is why we don’t keep Christmas. No, we share Christmas. May the peace of this Christmas sustain and enrich you and yours well into the New Year.
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