The Other Half

The Other Half

The Other Half

Christmas catalogues have been arriving for quite some time
– since August, I think. This week we received the ones for
“Personalised Christmas Cards” – I don’t know why we are on their mailing list as we’ve never bought any – and I decided to browse through them to see what was on offer. Amazing! Very few nativity scenes, lots of Father Christmas and reindeers (mostly jokey) and under “Traditional” -robins and snowy village scenes – occasionally with a church. The final injury to my heart was one called “The key to Christmas”, which consisted of a close-up of a computer keyboard with a Christmas tree replacing one of the keys! No wonder I try to make our own Christmas cards every year!

In 2006, one of the major card shop chains did not stock any nativity / religious Christmas cards because, they said, “there was no demand”. After quite a lot of letters from various incensed Christians and a threatened boycott, it was good to see a change in their policy for 2007!

I think that Christmas can be a wonderful time for gentle evangelisation. We have many friends on our mailing list who, as far as we know, have not yet committed their lives to Our Lord and I always think that His birthday is a good time to remind them of His coming and the hope that He brings.

So, my brothers and sisters, let’s try to bring Christmas back to it’s true focus. I must confess that the Charity Card catalogues, especially CAFOD, have a different and beautiful selection of “holy” cards, so they are available. And sending a charity card enables us to make a donation to a worthwhile cause while communicating our friendship and love to those we know.

Let’s evangelise this year. Let us try to communicate with everyone that the birth of Christ was the moment when God became man and God’s plan for our salvation began to unfold. When we know this, our lives are transformed. When we discover that God truly loves us beyond any expectation we can have and we realize that we are created because of that love. Then, surely, our desire must be to share this good news with everyone we know and with everyone we meet. After all, the truth is that JESUS IS THE KEY TO CHRISTMAS.

© Sue Whitehead

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Sue Whitehead