“It’s not what you eat between Christmas and New Year you should worry about, it’s what you eat between New Year and Christmas.” Anon

Christmas preparations. The shops started their pressure selling straight after Halloween. ‘Shop early for Christmas’, in case things go out of stock. Mince pies, puddings, crackers, trees, big boxes of chocolate – and would you believe, Brussels Sprouts. No matter how much you love ‘em, I doubt that month-old sprouts would actually enhance the Festive meal. (I know quite a few people who would love it if the Brussels Sprouts ran out of stock).

And then there are the go-to presents of the year. Apparently Air fryers are hurtling off the shelves, but if the budget doesn’t allow, there are always seasonal standbys – I am told that there really are people who enjoy that disgusting mixture of Carnation milk and British sherry sold as ‘Something’s Irish Cream’.

The pressure to do Christmas properly is huge. But the truth is that ‘Christmas’ is now an industry, a smokescreen hiding the harsh reality of social injustice.  

In the last few years, a new tradition has arrived with the Christmas tearjerkers from the major retailers. Like the unsolicited charity mail, these highlight real, deserving causes – but it’s impossible to respond to each and every one, and I’m afraid compassion fatigue is hard to resist.

Well, tough. Resist it.

It’s not as hard as going a week without a hot meal, sleeping on the street, living in fear of domestic violence, warming soup on the top of a radiator because you can’t afford the electricity to cook;  worst of all, feeling that no-one cares and that there is no point in living.

So what should our response be? We can’t heal the world We can’t do everything. But that is no excuse for doing nothing. Over the Christmas period, there will be initiatives to reach out to help those in real need. We respond as we are able. But we then have to ask ourselves what happens on St Stephens day and for the rest of the year. Our giving, our support, our prayers must not be seasonal, but continuous. Perhaps the Advent preparations should encompass the whole year?

To paraphrase the quote above: “It’s not how we serve between Christmas and New Year that we should worry about, it’s how we serve between New Year and Christmas.” 

Now, as we pray for whatever our personal response should be, we ask our Father what we could do to serve, not just at Christmas, but all year round. Doesn’t have to be a huge thing – but a small sincere act is a thousand times better than a grand promise unfulfilled. Be silent for a few moments and listen to God. It might not be a bad idea to write His answer down and pin it on the wall as a constant reminder.