Originally published in Faith Today, November/December 2012
By Don Hutchinson
The season of Advent is soon upon us. In a matter of weeks Christians worldwide will celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.
Being from the true north strong and free, I was raised with snow, a tree and gifts as key to my celebration. My first warm weather Christmas featured an inadequate attempt to turn some southern flora into a Christmas tree – fail. My first married Christmas away from “home” featured climbing a small mountain, chopping down an evergreen and carrying it home over my shoulder, dragging it on the ground behind me with one hand while walking forward, holding it with both hands, dragging it while walking backward and, ultimately, putting the bare side of the once-upon-a-time perfect tree against the wall in our front room.
Reflecting on it now, with maturity and broader experience, I understand how much more is included in Christmas. There are those who will not be born and will not celebrate Christmas on planet Earth. Those struggling through a final Christmas season with family before “heading home.” Those enjoying Christmas dinners at various missions because they are without a home. Those forced into plying an unwelcome trade on the street corners of our nation because others want to buy themselves the “gift” of using another’s body.
Those of us in the Western world will again face the seasonal battle of “Season’s Greetings” vs. “Merry Christmas,” while in more than 50 other countries the dilemma is more “Can I speak the name of Jesus without being beaten or imprisoned?”– and yet Christ followers there still celebrate His birth.
The EFC’s Centre for Faith and Public Life promotes biblical principles relevant to the public policy issues mentioned above along with a variety of others. We group these under four broad categories: sanctity of human life, care for the vulnerable, family integrity and freedom of religion.
Working in these four areas has refocused my celebration of Advent not on the trappings of a Canadian Christmas celebration, but on the reality of the birth, death and resurrection of a saviour – the Saviour.
There are days when it is challenging to advance the principles of the gospel in a Canadian public square that can be increasingly hostile to religion, particularly Christianity. Giving up, however, would lead to increased privatization of a faith birthed centuries ago to be a public faith. Such privatization would mean fewer opportunities to share Christian faith or influence a Canadian society that, without Christian influence, would be further adrift without an anchor – the Anchor.
A friend suggested Christians have suffered too many defeats with government and the courts. Perhaps, he suggested, we should pause until we find a winner. But I see we have victories. They are seen with the vision of Him who was victorious even in the apparent defeat of death. In 2005 human trafficking became a crime under Canada’s Criminal Code, and earlier this year a comprehensive national strategy was initiated to combat this modern day slavery. In 2008 the age of consent to sexual activity with an adult was raised from 14 to 16, protecting more children from predators. The Supreme Court of Canada has repeatedly declared the secular understanding of “sanctity of human life” is a value shared by Canadians. The Court has also repeatedly ruled that religiously informed opinions are not to be excluded from public policy debate. (It is worth noting that the language used in all these rulings can be traced to EFC court interventions.)
In recent months nearly 200,000 people flooded Parliament with letters, postcards, and petitions seeking review of Canada’s “born alive” rule regarding legal recognition as a human being. It’s heartwarming to see evidence people care enough about the injustice to our pre-born neighbours to engage with government.
Responding to His call to love one another – our brothers and sisters in Christ as well as our enemies and neighbours – we will find ways to do that personally: through direct individual contact, organizations that minister on His and our behalf, and contact with government. In these actions we celebrate not just His birth, but His life – the Life.