Hennie Symington

“A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her childrenand refusing to be comforted,because they are no more.”   Jeremiah 31:15 NIV

The Church all over the world is now, figuratively speaking in a state of expectation as we anticipate the celebration of the coming of Christ. This was not a good year for mankind. Our eyes fill with tears when we look back on the pain and suffering we witnessed this year. During this time of waiting, have you thought what kind of world we offer to our Saviour in the 2015^th year since his birth? Has nothing changed?

When looking at the world of today we experience a sense of “this has happened before.” The world is once again in turmoil and beset by war and destruction, and this year in particular, the eyes of the world are on the Middle East where the cruel and destructive beast slouching towards Bethlehem takes on a new meaning with the meteoric rise of IS accompanied by its inhuman and indiscriminate slaughter of people. It’s as if the slaughter of the innocents at the time of Christ’s birth is occurring a thousand times over, day in and day out.

It goes to show that the world today is no better than the time when Jesus was born. In our times, as in the pagan world of that time where evil flourished, nothing has changed. Greed, injustice and moral depravity, which were the order of the day then, have not been eradicated and it is still with us today. The Roman boot came down hard on the poor and the term human rights hadn’t even been coined at that time. The Jewish establishment itself was equally unjust towards the poor and the outcast. So what’s new?

In this harsh environment of power mongering, war, inequality and exploitation Christ comes to earth as a practical demonstration of the true nature of God. He opens the door for people to come to him through the path of love – not through the law of exclusion and harsh restrictions. Through the birth of a child in lowly circumstances, a new era dawns on earth where we as his followers are called to give birth to Christ in our time and the world we find ourselves in – now more so than ever before.

Prayer: Christ our Lord and Saviour, now more than in any other time in recent history we are in need of your intercession in our world today. Oh, Lord hear our prayers. Amen.