 What are we doing?
What is this ‘wishing away our lives’ thing? Last week, as I drove along the nearest main road, I was stunned to see Christmas banners fluttering from electricity poles. Different messages, but all variations of “Merry Christmas”. It’s October! OCTOBER! As of today, we are two calendar months away from Christmas Day. When I first saw the signs, it was approximately 11 and a half weeks – or about 80 days — until Christmas Day. Why are we aiming our thoughts towards a day as yet quite distant? There must be a thousand other deeds and thoughts to occupy our minds other than that! Yes, I know that perhaps it is a happy distraction from the woes of Covid…but… I feel for the poor children. They’ll see the Christmas signs and think that Christmas is almost here. What an interminable wait for them. When you’re a little kid, a week can seem like a month, a month, a year! 80 days? Forever! Should Advent calendars now come out, ready to count off the days? Will someone design an 80 day "Advent" calendar, do you think? (With no idea what 'Advent' is) Someone told me that the supermarkets are now selling Christmas goodies, such as mince pies and puddings. WHY? Are we wishing away our time on Earth? Is there nothing to look forward to, other than Christmas? Sure, I know that the year 2020 has been a bastard of a year. Covid has not been fun for anyone, but does this mean that the only thing to lighten our mood is to hope the weeks go by quicker than ever? But, of course, it’s the commercial aspect. Time to get ready, folks, to spend, spend, spend… Off to the shopping centres — or start spending online. Get into the spending mood; Christmas is coming. Does everyone have plenty of money to spend? Now, there’s a sticky question. (But we won’t go there). Only a couple of months away, now. And, what was it that’s started this Christmas thing? Can hardly remember. Something about angels and a baby? Or was it something about Cadburys chocolate? Maybe Myer? Or just banners from light poles? Oh, my… What would Jesus think?
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 We all know fairy stories. Here’s an un-fairy story.
Once upon a time in a kingdom known as Auz, there was an emperor called Clotty, who had two daughters, whom he loved very much. He constantly gave them everything they wished for – and even some things that they didn’t wish for. “Aw, c’mon, Daddy,” they said to him the day he built them a cubby house. “That cubby is for three-year-olds. We’re much bigger than that”, and they laughed at him. So, next he built them a henhouse. But it was too small, and he foolishly built it in a place where hen houses were not allowed. “Silly Daddy!” said his daughters. Clotty still wanted his girls to have everything they asked for. They had presents galore. He even invited BOTH their grandmas to come and live with them, so the grandmas could spoil the girls as well. And their Mummy’s best friend came to stay often, and she gave the girls even more attention and presents. Lucky, lucky girls! But Clotty was not kind, loving and generous to all little girls. He was especially mean and cruel to two sweet little girls who once lived in a country town in Auz. He sent these little girls away, far from their home and all the friends who loved and cared for them. Clotty’s mean and nasty helpers put the little girls on a plane with their mummy and daddy and flew them over the sea to a horrible hot place, with wire fences - and where there are guards to watch them and tell them where they can go and what they can do. When nice, kind people objected and asked Clotty why he did this, he and his mean and nasty helpers said it was because the little girls’ mummy did not sign a special piece of paper she was given many years ago. Clotty said that the little girls and their mummy and daddy had to be punished and must soon go and live somewhere else - over in a very scary place. The little girls did not know the scary place, as they had lived in the kingdom of Auz all their lives. They were little Auzzies, through and through. “When can we go back to our friends and the house that we loved?” the little girls kept asking their mummy and daddy. But their mummy and daddy could only sigh and tell them that they didn’t know. And there were tears. The family became sadder and sadder. There were many people who loved and cared for them and those people also became sadder and sadder. And then became angry. Lots and lots of folk in the kingdom of Auz were also extremely upset. They wrote letters to Clotty and sent messages to his mean and nasty helpers, asking for the little girls and their mummy and daddy to be able to come back to their home in the country. But the mean and nasty helpers just grinned their awful grins and rubbed their hands and said, “No way.” “We like to have some people locked away”, they said. “Especially those with brown skin.” And, as they were saying this, they gave their own children presents and treats – and hugged them. And so, unlike most fairy stories, this un-fairy story does not have a happy ending. A happy ending will have to wait for an emperor who not only loves his own children, but who can also learn to love other children too. But I guess it won’t be Clotty. |
