Friday, December 13, 2013

justice

A friend shared this thought-provoking post on facebook a few days ago, and I have been chewing it over especially today in light of the assigned word.

I must confess that I have never been a huge Santa fan. Spit on me if you must. As soon as my kids were ready to toss in the towel, I was right there with them, probably because I am super lazy and a really bad play-actor and the pretense was just so much work. For what?  Life is already full of magic just as it is, in the beauty of nature and love and human spirit.

The post above, though, got me thinking about what an injustice Santa must be for many, many kids. Here you are, with everyone around getting a pile of presents, and you get nothing. What, this guy likes everyone else but you? Have you really been that bad?

Giant pile of presents, just for me!

Our church adopts a couple of families every year, and people are always a little miffed when the kids' wish list comes in with items like "Playstation 3" or "iPad" listed on it. But what are they supposed to ask for? Underwear and socks, like that poor sap on WestJet? No, they want their fair share. Everything around them has told them to dream. They don't understand the difference between "Santa, the magical guy who lives at the North Pole and visits all the other kids in school except me" (because, while they are surely not alone, the other kids are not piping up about their lack of Santa) and "Santa, the spirit of whom is being helped along by people who are also providing Christmas for their own families."

May we all channel the spirit of St. Nicholas this holiday season, and help the season (and even beyond) be a little more just for those in need.

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