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With the unfamiliarity of spending the holiday season in a
new culture, I’ve been acutely aware of the things that
remind me of home. Of course, the most nostalgic part of
the holiday season has been the music playing wherever I
go: “Silent Night,” “Deck the Halls,” and “O Holy
Night.” There is also the excitement of the coming of
“Father Christmas” and the children at school are busy
writing their lists in hopes that they have been good
enough this year. The tree is up in the living room, the
Sunday school put on an adorable Nativity play last
week, and though Black Friday isn’t “celebrated” here in
South Africa, the stores are packed with shoppers and
Christmas promotions have begun.
Christmas in Cape Town
Besides the similarities and differences of a
Christmas away from Minnesota, my heart and mind have
been focused in new ways as the season begins. December
1st is known worldwide as World AIDS Day, a day to
remember those who have died from HIV and AIDS, to
support and walk beside those who are infected or
affected, and to recognize the realities of this
disease—which is thought to currently infect over 33
million people (28 million in Africa alone).
While working and living in South Africa, one of the countries
with the highest number of infected people on the globe,
this day takes on incredible new meaning for me and
helps to shape how I enter this Christmas season.
Throughout South Africa, school children, business
workers, taxi drivers, and citizens all over the country
show their solidarity with those who have HIV and AIDS
by wearing red on this day. There are programs, free
testing clinics, educational opportunities, and artistic
expressions throughout the country that strive to bring
attention to this disease. It is fitting that World AIDS
Day falls in the month of December—the time of year that
our hearts and minds are calmed and humbled, and when we
feel compassion for others.
In a somber way,
World AIDS Day reminds us of the humbleness of Jesus
entering the world among the poor, the outcasts, and the
weak, and that our call is to love and walk alongside
those people, specifically those affected by HIV and
AIDS, this season and always. (Continued
on next page.) |
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Visit the
study
page for ideas for discussion and further
reflection.
Christmas is already here
in stores, on TV commercials and at the post office, but in the
church we’re just beginning the season of Advent, the time of
waiting. We’re not just waiting for presents or for our daily
chocolate from the Advent calendar either; we’re waiting for Jesus!
I imagine that most of us are waiting for a lot of other things
too—for the economy to rebound, for tests results to tell us we’ll
be okay, for 401Ks to go up, for student loan checks to come in, an
end to school bullying and violence, a cure for AIDS and cancer, to
fall in love, and on and on . . . . Perhaps for many of us, our
whole life feels like waiting.
When John heard in
prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and
said to him, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for
another?’ Matthew 11:2–3
And maybe sometimes, we
don’t even know what we are waiting for. John was telling of the
Messiah—the one who would come and separate the wheat from the
chaff. The one who would bring the kingdom of heaven and burn the
leftovers.
Jesus answered them, ‘Go
and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight,
the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are
raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is
anyone who takes no offense at me. Matthew 11:4–6
Not quite what he was
waiting for. Not quite the people John thought the Messiah would be
hanging around with—the blind, lame, diseased, deaf, dead and poor.
Is this it? Or should we
keep waiting?
Continued
on next page. |
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