2009 - Day 1

My Lectionary begins the year with Luke 2: 16-21 the shepherds coming and discovering the newborn Jesus. A great way to begin - A God who reveals her nature in the tenderness of a tiny baby, born in poverty and despair (homelessness and insecurity). The shepherds, the poor of their day, often despised and excluded are to be the first witnesses of this new creation. What joy. Our task for this new year, and all fresh starts, is to be joyful that God is with us, and creates hope amongst our despair. We bear witness to this changemaker, we celebrate this life and herald a new beginning, full of the promise of peace, love and joy.

How we do this in a world so full of conflict and unhappiness is a more complex question to answer. One way was unfolded to me at the cinema on the 1st day of January in the form of 'Che - parts 1 and 2'. On this, the 50th anniversary of the Cuban victory (The dictator Batista fled Havana on 1st Jan 1959) a new set of films have been made, portraying the life and death of one of the 20th centuries most important figures. Part 1 is a marvel, it shows how a small group of determined people with a desire to change an unequal world achieved the almost impossible. The direction is light, and the real history is allowed to tell the story.

The achievements for the poor in Cuba have been immense, and the victory of the revolution should continue to inspire and change us.

Part 2 focuses on Che's time in Bolivia, prior to his execution. It is altogether more chilling and disturbing. It was a disastrous expedition from the start. It displays though, that the true revolutionary cannot afford not to take risks. Che would never have left the legacy that he has without being prepared to die for the sake of humanity. This is the crossover with our Christian faith. We live it out, we take risks, and we must be even prepared to die for it. That is all too easy to say in the comfort of 2 Ashgrove, but we must be in solidarity with those in Cuba, Venezuela, Palestine, Iraq, Zimbabwe, and all those who risk death struggling for a world of justice and peace.