Christmas cheer?

This week I overheard a mum at school saying that she didn't like Christmas. Ba humbug, thought I, as one who LOVES Christmas. But then she was a Christian lady working in a Christian school and so her comments began to disturb me. In fact what she was saying was that she disliked the frenetic business associated with Christmas celebrations and for her this cast a rather dark mid-winter cloud over the whole affair. Looking at some of the statistics, I can see why. Did you know:

• £20 billion is spent on Christmas in the UK. Before we dismiss this out of hand as material gluttony, one must consider the effect on the economic well-being of the nation. Many retailers make 60% of their annual turnover during the Christmas period. Still, is it money well spent?
• 83 square kilometres of wrapping paper will end up in UK rubbish bins - enough to cover an area larger than Guernsey!
• 7.5 million Christmas trees, 10 million turkeys and 25 million Christmas puddings are consumed;
• And... 1 in 3 men will wait until Christmas Eve to finish their Christmas shopping. Perhaps this is where the greatest stress is!

At the same time, I have taken to the practice of buying 'Gifts of Compassion' as Christmas presents. This is a scheme run by the Christian Charity International Needs whereby my rather small share of the £20 billion is spent on cows, pigs, goats, school dinners, bikes - or whatever is needed by people in developing nations, to enable them to build a sustainable local economy. The charity then give me a card to send the usual recipients of my Christmas good will explaining the gift that has been bought in their name. Less wrapping paper; no Christmas Eve shopping and a gift that embraces the real wonder and spirit of Christmas. That's win win in my book. Perhaps this will help to relieve the stress of the Christmas business and make it a truly meaningful celebration to embrace.
Check it out at www.ineeds.org.uk

Baby Peter... should we forgive?

The names of Baby Peter's mother and her boyfriend and his brother, also resident at the house where this appalling tragedy occurred, have been released. Tracey Connelly, Jason Owen and Stephen Barker have been jailed for causing or allowing the baby's death. Peter died after months of abuse in Haringey, north London, in August 2007. Peter was 17 months old when he died with more than 50 injuries. And with this latest revelation comes further details about these people which add to the horrific picture of almost unimaginable cruelty inflicted on such a small child.

In a letter to the judge before she was sentenced alongside her boyfriend and lodger, Baby Peter's mother apologised for the "pain and suffering" endured by her son before his death, she said: "I punish myself on a daily basis".

One of many questions that arise is 'should we ever forgive Peter's mother for her part in his death?'

Another notorious criminal seeking 'forgiveness' by the state on behalf of society is the train robber Ronnie Biggs. Again he was involved in a crime that saw the murder of an innocent, this time a railwayman. Justice Secretary, Jack Straw, had denied his bid for parole on the basis that he had shown no remorse for his crime. This decision has now been reversed on compassionate grounds with Biggs apparently suffering failing health.

Again the question about forgiveness arises. Is any crime ever too heinous to be forgiven?

Crime, justice, and rehabilitation of offenders are complex matters and no less so as the State undertakes its role to protect the vulnerable from the wicked.

Yet we all face this issue of forgiveness in perhaps less extreme ways. In our daily lives we may feel offended, hurt, abused, besmirched, misunderstood, wrongly accused, disadvantaged, insulted, disrespected... the list is almost endless of how we may feel aggrieved by others words or actions against us. It may be family or friends, strangers or institutions who to our minds are guilty of this.

We are then left with two options. We either harbour resentment or we forgive them and move on. Jesus Christ said famously that we should pray to God the Father 'forgive us... as we forgive others'. In other words, if we want God to forgive us for the times we offend, hurt... and all the rest, we need to forgive others in this same way. This is good, sound advice. Psychologists tell us that forgiving others who do ill against us releases us from being imprisoned by resentment and bitterness; failing to forgive can consume us.

Yet there is another aspect that is vital to human relationships thriving, and that is repentance when we have committed a wrong against another. Repentance is more that regret, it is more than seeking forgiveness, it is about rehabilitation - about not making the same mistake again.

In repairing our fractured relationship with God, He calls upon us to repent of the things that have caused the rift between us. Once we declare our intention to do so, He forgives us and helps us to live the life that seeks not to injure God or our fellow human beings, or indeed ourselves. (His perfect justice is served by His Son Jesus Christ serving the sentence for us by his death on the Cross.)

And if God does that for us, he asks that we do that for others. This is our daily challenge! We are to seek to forgive, but also help people move away from destructive behaviour.

But what of Tracey Connelly and Ronnie Biggs? Can we forgive them?

The principle remains the same. Yes we must forgive them, but we do that in the context of working for their rehabilitation, so that further offenses are not committed. For that to happen there must be sincere and authentic repentance. I'm not sure that either have yet demonstrated this... but then I'm not close to either of them. What do you think?

... in a world post Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson lives... at least our Associate Minister of that name does here in North Cheam. Yet we are all shocked at the death of the more famous person of that name at such a relatively young age of 50. Whether we loved or loathed, or were for that matter, indifferent to his music, he was an iconic figure.

His untimely death highlights the fragility of our human existence and as we watch, read and listen to countless hours of reflection upon his life, we are also reminded of the contrasting tragic and comic elements of our own lives; the ups and the downs. He was a very public figure, wanting to be recognised and appreciated and yet also a reclusive figure, wanting his own space and anonymity. And we are just like that in some measure.

Such celebrity deaths cause us to think about our own lives - our aspirations and our disappointments, our struggles and our achievements. Perhaps for this author the main point driven home by the death of another Michael only a few years my senior is to ask how I am using my time on this earth, am I wasting it or investing it wisely. Will I be able to look back when my time comes to leave this moral coil and say it was well spent, or more importantly, will God look upon my life and say 'well done good and trusty servant'. It is an opportunity now, before it is literally too late, to ask how we have contributed to the well-being of others, both in our lifetime and those who will follow us...

Still, I can say with confidence, God sent Michael Jackson to my Church!

see www.ncbc.org.uk