Christmas Message from your Local Churches
Mass times
Our Lady of the Rosary Alstonville Catholic Church mass times are as follows:
Children's Mass on Tuesday, December 24 at 5pm; Vigil Mass on Tuesday, December 24 at 7pm; Midnight Mass; and Christmas Mass on Wednesday, December 25 at 8.30pm.
Father Frank Mulcahy from the Our Lady of the Rosary Alstonville Catholic Church wishes everyone the blessings of Christmas.
The Candy Cane
I love those little candy canes that appear in shops this time of year. But it's not just that they taste good. They're actually a good reminder of what Christmas is all about.
For starters, the cane is shaped like a shepherd's staff. This reminds us of the shepherds who ran to the manger on that very first Christmas night. Also, the can is the shape of a 'J' for Jesus. This reminds us of who Christmas is really about. It's about Jesus Christ, the one who was born to save.
But there's more! The red stripes on the candy cane remind us how Jesus saves us. Jesus grew up to die on the cross. He shed his blood for us so our sins could be forgiven. This means we can now receive the gift of eternal life is we trust in Jesus death for us. Not only that, but the white stripes on the cane remind us that we are now clean and pure before God if we have put our trust in Jesus.
So as you eat one of those little candy canes this Christmas, make sure you stop and remember why we have Christmas: Jesus was born to save you from your sins. In fact, why not go along to church this Christmas and find out more about what it means to accept the greatest Christmas present of all: the gift of eternal life through Jesus.
Steve Cree
Southern Cross
Presbyterian Church
Christmas in the Bush
A poem from the Australian poet John O'Brien (alias Monsignor Hartigan, Parish Priest of Narranderah, NSW), who immortalised Tangmalangaloo in his poem about Christmas.
The Bishop had come to Tangmalangaloo for Confirmation. The bush kids gathered in the country church for their Christian knowledge examination.
"There everything is big and grand, and men are giants too - but Christian knowledge wilts, alas, at Tangmalangaloo."
Fixing his eyes on a hefty lad, the Bishop asked him why Christmas was the greatest day of the year.
"How is it that around the world we celebrate that day
And send a name upon a card to those who're far away?
Why is it wandering ones return with smiles and greetings too?"
The boy's ready answer - "bared a fact no bishop ever knew -
It's the day before the races our at
Tangmalangaloo."
In one sense the lad was right. People celebrate Christmas for many different reasons.
For believers in Jesus Christ, the reason lies in the birth of the Child, who showed to the world what it means for God to love our world. A world then, as now, that desperately cried out for "Good News".
A happy and holy Christmas to all!
Father Peter Slack
Terania Catholic Parish
(Dunoon, Nimbin, Goolmangar and Larnook)
Anybody for Peace?
"For unto us a child is born; unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God; The everlasting Father; The Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9: 6 (authorised version of The Bible).
"The US would soon have enough heavy tanks, warships, aircraft, bombs and troops in the Persian Gulf region to enable it to invade Iraq in January". (The Courier Mail, Dec 10 2002, page 11).
I am a compulsive watcher of the early morning news. Every morning, at 6.15am, I bound out of bed and zip over to my TV set to see what happened during the night whilst I was far away in the land of nod. Or at least that's what I used to do; of late the early morning fare has been becoming a bit predictable - mostly George W Bush in one of his current political scenarios: a) 10 reasons why we should have a war, b) 13 reasons why Iraq should be invaded, or, just for a change, c) why this next war is going to be even better than "Desert Storm"!
Meanwhile, our Western political leaders, including the American President, go to Church this time of the year, as is their normal custom, to sing "Love came down at Christmas", "Peace on Earth and mercy mild", "O hush the noise, you men of strife, And hear the angels sing", and all sorts of other equally laudable Yuletide hymns. To say that all this appears to be a little incongruous would be the understatement of the Century!
This is why many right wing Christian politicians across the Western world tend to have what looks like something of a credibility problem this Christmas. Many of us, including our leading professedly Christian federal elected representatives, seem to have a happy (?) capacity to apparently completely detach the message of the Nativity stories from the political attitudes the Western super powers appear to be currently developing in the run up to December 25, with reference to events now building in the Middle East. Talk about the sword of Damocles would appear these days to be even more pertinent now than it has ever been before!
It was the late Mahatma Ghandi who once said: "I might have become a Christian if I hadn't met so many people who said that that was what they were."
Friedrich Nietzsche, in a moment of profound pessimism, wrote that "The last Christian died on the Cross".
Was he right? Or was he simply looking in the wrong direction?
This Christmas the leaders of the Western alliance have a unique opportunity to actually demonstrate to the rest of the world that the Christian teachings of love, compassion, peace and goodwill, that they publicly profess as we celebrate the birth of Christ, are actually more than only a lot of pious hot air.
Am I being naïve; perhaps; but it would so nice, just this time, to prove Nietzsche wrong wouldn't it! After all, if pigs can fly on television...
Rev Peter Playsted
St Paul's Presbyterian Church
Four Gifts for Christmas
If I was a betting man, I could place a very safe bet on the fact that somewhere amongst your Christmas cards you will find one of the words HOPE, PEACE, JOY or LOVE. They are not only words of the Christmas vocabulary, but essential attributes of the lives of Christians.
St Paul places first amongst God's gifts - Love. The baby of Bethlehem becomes the man who lives out the life of Love. This is supremely shown in the words Jesus speaks from the cross: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do".
This is a request for the most loving of gifts - forgiveness - for those who stand ridiculing the dying Christ. These are not spoilt children having a tantrum, or frustrated lovers involved in a crime of passion - these are bitter, angry, spiteful men and women venting their spleens, baying for the blood of the one who is prepared to be their scapegoat.
Jesus looks with loving eyes into the hearts of his oppressors and understands their anger and their need - and he asks for them peace, joy and hope.
Can we do the same as we look at broken personal relationships spoiling this family festival? Can we do the same as we look at the fractures in our society - the haves and have-nots, the rights and the wrongs, the radicals and the conservatives? Can we do that as we look at our messy world - the desire of both Jew and Palestinian for a land they may call their own, the constantly drought stricken and hungry in the Horn of Africa, the divided island of Cyprus - quite apart from the more headline catching issues of terrorism and weapon inspections?
May God give you a heart, eyes and ears of Love that you may be an agent of peace and joy and hope.
The Rev Patrick Doulin
St Andrew's Anglican Church, Lismore
The Priceless Gift
The Gospel of St Matthew, Chapter 2, records the visit to Bethlehem of the wise men. They came to worship the one who had been born king of the Jews. They had seen his star in the heavens and followed it to Jerusalem and then onto Bethlehem. They found the Christ child in a stable, worshipped him, and presented their gifts of gold, incense and myrrh. They found God's most priceless gift to mankind and presented gifts fit for a king.
We have held onto this tradition of giving gifts at Christmas time, and children and adults alike love the moment of gift giving and receiving on Christmas Day.
What will you give and receive this Christmas? I discovered recently a gimmick toy of an amazing character that can do anything. The greatest feature of this character is that he is invisible. When you have read all the promotional hype on the box and open it - it's empty! Naturally, because this character is invisible!
What surprises me is that some people actually buy this. Would you pay for an empty box and give it to your child as a gift for Christmas?
So, what will you do for your family and yourself for Christmas this year? Will you just celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ by taking a holiday, sharing gifts and partying? Or will you come and worship Him, the King of Kings and share your life with Him, the Priceless Gift?
Major Russell Adams
The Salvation Army
The Good News
In our world of advanced communication technology we are regularly bombarded with images of bitterness, hatred, violence and death. If you were to believe only what the media tells you about the doom and gloom around the world, you could easily fall into despair and live out of a 'fear, dread and anxiety' mindset. It is easy to be misled into believing that the world is doomed, to feel that all is lost, and that there is no hope.
But good things are happening around the world all the time. We rarely hear about them, but people in every continent are working to improve the human condition and to promote peace between diverse groups of people. Sadly, the media seldom gives any coverage. But the Christmas message for out world now, and in every age, is "Behold I bring you good tidings of great joy".
Statistics in terms of human and financial resources at work around the world are really quite staggering. While there are literally thousands of 'Aid' organisations, check out a couple of samples - 'Christian Aid', a UK-based organisation, spends 41 million English pounds annually, while the US-based organisation 'Save the Children' spends US$112 million annually. 'Oxfam' spends US$1.5 billion, and 'Amnesty International' spends 21 million English pounds. Imagine the number of people involved in delivering the services, and the number of people who are helped. Add to those four organisations all the people in every community around the world who work for peace and for the improvement of the human condition. Now that is good news.
Don't let national and international terror become a tyranny in your life. It is so easy to allow the events of life to create fear, guilt, anxiety and hopelessness. Take the message of Christmas seriously, that in the coming of Christ, the good news about hope and possibility became real. Human resilience, empowered by the spirit of God, can overcome tyranny whether political or personal.
Rehearse the Christmas message, "Good news of great joy".
Jesus once said, "In the world you will have tribulation, but I have overcome the world".
Rev Brian Whitlock
Uniting Church
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