Learning To See
World Vision NZ CEO Chris Clarke reflects on the need to see the poverty & hardship behind the original Christmas story.
23/12/2011 / FEATURE
By: Chris Clarke, CEO World Vision New Zealand
It had been a long year. All I wanted was for my tired and jaded
soul to be stirred by Nelson Cathedral's midnight Christmas carol
service. But, seemingly, it was not to be. Midway through the first
carol a noisy, revelling, family group entered the Cathedral and
despite the empty seats chose to sit next to me. As we celebrated
the birth of the Saviour they, clearly uncomfortable, kept up their
banter, giggling, pouring scorn on an ex-boyfriend and trying to
calculate how long the service would last before they could get out
for a smoke.
How could they fail to notice the occasion? Why had they come in
the first place? Surely something of the message of the stable born
king touched them? Not helping my rising irritation were the
increasing stares from others directed at me - 'please don't think
they are with me' my eyes pleaded!
And it was in that unexpected moment that my soul was stirred.
Two thousand years earlier, while the angels burst forth in song
and heaven clapped its hands for joy, nobody save a few shepherds,
their animals and visitors from the East noticed the inauspicious
birth of the Saviour King. The proud Father, keen to celebrate the
birth of his Son, was rebuffed by a world that did not see nor
care. The defining point of human history unmarked, except by a
starburst that also largely went unnoticed.
Who could blame them for not noticing. Jesus the good news, born
the bastard son of an unwed teenage girl. Jesus the saviour of the
world, born into poverty and obscurity in an unheralded part of the
world. Jesus the restorer, himself soon to be a refugee. An
inauspicious start for someone of such exceptional parentage.
I was discomforted by the thought that people might think I was
with the family who disrupted a carol service. No such scruples for
God the Father. Rather than "please don't think they are with me",
He announces to an oblivious world "Please notice I am with you!"
And in that single act offers the greatest gift of all to every
unwed teenage mum, refugee and struggling family - hope.
I am also struck by the sheer grubbiness of the original
Christmas - both the lowly birth and the reaction of those around
Joseph and Mary, particularly Joseph's family who were the first to
turn him away from the door, presumably so shamed by the pregnant
Mary.
In my work I am often confronted with grubbiness. Its most
obvious face is that of corruption and exploitation of the poor.
It's more subtle face is that of the rich man or woman who turns a
blind eye to the beggar Lazarus at his or her doorstep.
One story that springs to mind is that of Amuna Doka.
Fleeing fighting that was started in the Blue Nile State of
Sudan Amuna Doka and her five children arrived at the Kumruk
Transit Centre in Ethiopia in mid-October where World Vision were
working. They had walked for 23 days to get there, surviving on
leaves, wild foods, and the generosity of other refugees.
But, humanitarian workers only counted four children and asked
her where the fifth was.
Amuna pulled aside her Sari and revealed a small newborn
clinging to her breast. She was only 19 days old.
Amuna said she travelled for weeks heavily pregnant and on the
18th day went into delivery on the side of a road. After the birth,
she was forced to struggle back to her feet and complete the last
five days of the journey to safety.
As she had crossed the border, she had thanked God that she and
her children were safe.
In Pakistan, this Christmas day, mothers will weep for their
dead children. In Somalia parents will be faced with the 'Sophie's
choice' of which child do I save? In the refugee camps, relief
workers will rise before dawn and somehow muster the stamina to
deal with yet another newly arrived exhausted family like Amuna's.
Most will not know the Christmas story but there is the possibility
they will experience the Father's love in the form of a cup of
water, a meal and a place to sleep.
And God will notice.
Chris Clarke, CEO World Vision New Zealand
St George's Parish, Auckland
How will you respond this Christmas?
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