"Joseph went up to be registered...with him went Mary ... who was betrothed to him. She was pregnant..." (Luke 2)

It doesn't take a lot of effort to imagine how uncomfortable Mary must have felt on that donkey traipsing all the way to Bethlehem.  How she and Joseph must have chafed at the inconvenience of the government decree.  For them it was the wrong timing, but there was nothing for it, they had to obey.

That ride must have felt like an eternity to Mary.  Her body, weary, heavy and uncomfortable, registering every footfall and every slip on the rough roads.  And poor Joseph must have been eaten up by anxiety and concern. What if they didn't make it before the babe arrived?  What would he do then?  How could he care for her and the baby?  How could he keep them safe?

That first Christmas, which we celebrate with such saccharine sentimentality, was anything but sweet and lovely.  The realities were harsh, the future uncertain. But Mary and Joseph did what they knew they must do. They travelled that uncomfortable and risky road,  preparing for the birth of their child, though with more than the usual number of questions on their minds.  Their being prepared to endure the uncomfortable and live with the questions,  brought a new brand of hope to the world.

As we enter Christmas 2004 and take stock of the realities of our world, we too acknowledge harshness and uncertainty. Poverty, hunger, violence, AIDS, war, oppression are all part of our world. The small steps we make towards change are often uncomfortable and fill us with questions.  Our steps seem inadequate compared to the enormity of the problems.

Yet, Christmas (the real one, not one we manufacture for our own comfort) reminds us that doing what has to be done, in spite of discomfort and questions, IS good enough.  By tackling injustices and inequities step by step, through programmes like the Decade to Overcome Violence and the gifts we make to Christian World Service, we too bring hope to our world.  How our small effort is used is God's business. Ours is doing it, not avoiding it.

As we come to the end of the life of CCANZ, we look back with thankfulness for the many ecumenical achievements that have been, and still are, part of the landscape of this country.  But as we look forward, that uncomfortable journey and those uncomfortable questions are part of our reality. Yet we believe that a new future for ecumenism in Aotearoa New Zealand will come to birth.

Where and how, is a mystery - birth always has its own timing. Like Mary and Joseph, we travel with expectancy and hopefulness, trusting in the One who reveals and leads. As we do so, we become hope-bearers, peace-makers and life-givers, reflecting the great message of Christmas -- Emmanuel, God-with-us.

Father Ilyan Eades, Garth Cant, Diane Miller-Keeley.
CCANZ Presidium

Ngaire Lennox
Executive Secretary
Conference of Churches in Aotearoa New Zealand
P O Box 22 652
Christchurch
Web Page: www.ccanz.net.nz
Email:  admin@ccanz.net.nz
Phone: 64 3 377 2703
Fax:  64 3 377 2702