"'Tis the season to be jolly" says one of the popular Christmas Carols that may still be heard in some of our shopping centres. And people seem to be trying very hard to be jolly! But there are at least three very large shadows hanging over us this Christmas that threaten to rob us of the usual sense of joy that the season brings.

The first is the threat of terrorism that seems to assail us almost everytime we turn on the news. We have had reports of terrorism for years. The Arabs and the Jews have been attacking one another for over half a century. The ongoing conflict beterrn the British and the IRA brought terror to the streets of London. I remember being in Oxford Street in London in the mid '80s when a department store was evacuated because of a bomb threat.

However, except for a few isolated events like the Hilton bombing, terrorism was "over there". It was a long way away from our shores and only affected us if we chose to travel. And, even then, most places we might go were considered "safe".

Now that has all changed. The attacks on the World Trade Centre and then the Bali bombing has not only raised terrorism to a new level of ferocity, it has brought it close to home. Not only are many seriously reconsidering their plans for overseas travel, we are being warned by the Government to be alert for a serious threat to our own city! "Security" has become a significant issue and the inherant suspicion of those who are different to us, especially if they are of Arabic appearance, has been fanned to new intensity. The dream of "Peace on earth and goodwill to men" seems more distant now than for many years.

The second great shadow is the terrible drought that is devastating almost the whole of our country. We in the city have been, to this point, largely insulated from the suffering that many are experimenting this Christmas. We have had just enough rain, in most places, to keep us from feeling too much discomfort. Yes, we do have to pay more attention to watering the garden, and the lawn may be looking a little brown, but it is only a slight irritation.

However, the situation in the country is desperate. Not only are crops not producing, sheep and cattle are dying. Valuable breeding stock are being lost forever. And there is the flow-on effect to rural communities where local businesses, service organisations and even churches have little or no income.

A third great shadow is the fact, revealed by a recent study, that a large proportion of our younger generation admit to the taking of drugs. Regardless of potential long-term consequences, they are seeking their 'fun' in a pill, a bottle or a syringe! Or, as someone suggested, they are simply seeking to deaden the underlying empyiness and emotional pain of their lives.

How then, under such dark shadows, can we really be 'jolly'? Most seem to thing that the happiness of this season can only be found in a mythical fat man in a red suit. But, whatever fleeting pleasure and material 'goodies' that may come from this figure do nothing to dispel the shadows.

To find any hope we have to go back to the source. It is only Jesus Christ, "The Reason for the Season", who can remove the shadows hy His Light. It is only when we are walking in His Light, experiencing His Love, that mercy that we will see an end to the curse of drought. It is only as our young people find their hope, their strength and their joy in Him that they will be free to resist the peer pressure of drugs to seek the answers in Him.

May the Christ of Christmas fill you with all joy and peace in believing. And may your joy be infectious!

John Davies

1 December 2002