Christmastide Blessings from KAIROS
In the lead up to Christmas, the readings in our churches offer incredible images of promise:
Swords turn into ploughshares;
Lions lie down with lambs;
And gardens bloom in the desert.
The language is so beautiful, so poetic, that we can be dazzled into a sense that the promise—of peace, wellbeing, of abundant life—is for some other world, a heavenly realm, far beyond our reach.
But the prophets were speaking into their time—of war and strife and disasters—and we hear them now in ours. If we look carefully, we can see that the prophetic message is for the now—their now and ours. It may be a vision, but it is a vision of the possible, a vision that we can begin to approach if we walk the ways of Yahweh. |
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The prophets' words may be dreams, but they are not fantasies, more like the dream of Martin Luther King Jr. where “I have a dream” was a specific agenda for racial and economic justice in America."
I have trouble some days believing peace is possible. In our work in the Democratic Republic of Congo or in Israel-Palestine, confidence in transformation can be easily tested.
But we work with the people who don’t give up, who can’t give up, who take the prophetic message to heart, who believe that peace, that well being is possible, and work hard, and at great risk to make it so.
We work together with Indigenous communities in Canada, plagued by racism, constant setbacks, heart breaking tragedies—emerging from the bitter legacy of colonization—and yet they continue to believe in renewal and in the promise of right relations.
We work with communities affected by the extractive industry in Canada and around the globe, folks who see nowhere to turn, when they experience ecological harm or human rights violations, and yet they continue to work with us, to believe that together we can build accountability, sustainability and justice.
At Christmas, we welcome the Child of Peace who came into this world to transform it. That Christ Child, the boldest promise, inspires and accompanies us to, together, do the work of healing the world.
We want to thank you—churches, communities, networks, partners, donors—all who work for ecological justice and human rights in the KAIROS community. Thank you for your commitment, your efforts, and most of all for your continued active hope in the promise of peace and justice.
We welcome Christmas donations to support this shared work, as well as your continued engagement in movements of hope.
From all of us here at KAIROS, thank you again and Merry Christmas.
Jennifer Henry
Executive Director
KAIROS
KAIROS Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives
310 Dupont St. Suite 200, Toronto, ON, Canada M5R 1V9
Tel: 416-463-5312 | Toll-free: 1-877-403-8933| Fax: 416-463-5569
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