Times Advocate, 1994-12-21, Page 4Page 4
Times -Advocate, December 21, 1994
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•- •
pinion
The Christ of Christmas
By Rev. Ross Thomson,
St. Peter's Lutheran Church,
Zurich, Ontario
As I peer out from the sill of my par-
sonage office window, my view of the
church is transfixed by the apparition
which confronts me. There on the lawn
of the church is a nativity scene (larger
than life) of a father and mother over-
looking a cradle. Snow is on the
ground. And some snow hangs from
the roof of their stable. Animals share
their crowded confines with these hu-
man intruders. There are wise men
bearing gifts of all kinds and still oth-
ers with no gifts at all - just looking on.
Sheep, cattle and birds all have their
own places among this manger scene,
so peacefully still as if frozen in time,
but awaiting the right time to en-
ergize
into motion. But the
command, the prompt or in-
struction has yet to be given.
And I wait, as they wait, for
something to happen to ani-
mate the story. For the cra-
dle is empty, the gathering
assembled and we are pa-
tiently awaiting the promise
of a child, who will
. make all the differ-
ence to a world -
wounded by sorrow.
What child is this?
And how long must
we wait? These are
the questions which I
hope will arise in
those who pass by, but
seldom look up from
their trances. Have we forgotten the
story of Christmas? Or have we traded
it off for a Nintendo -type holiday,
where no one is thanked in the rush to
stuff packages under a tree anony-
mously from Santa? And whose birth-
day is it? And whatever happened to
old-fashioned Christmas, where one or
two toys went ever so further in mak-
ing one child happier for just seeing
aunts, uncles, and cousins at Christ-
mas? A festival, like no other, where
egg nog, nuts in the shell, rock candy,
peanut brittle, turkey with fixings
proved to us all life was good and we
were most- thankful to God the provid-
er. A time when churches were filled to
their brims and row upon row of can-
dles were lit, because God's birthday
was important (back then) to those who
confessed Christ Jesus as Lord.
If Christmas is to count, then, I be-
lieve we need to consider an earlier
time, when we stopped to rest, regard
and respect that which was sacred and
holy for all humankind, regardless of
rights, legislation or political correct-
ness, because it should always be well
between God and his children and in
harmony with creation.
What child is this? God's child in hu-
man flesh and born unto us in Beth-
lehem of Judea. A Saviour who is
Christ the Lord. Our waiting has
come to this. Prophecy
fulfilled in the face of a
1 child, divinely -human,
yet so much like
us. While the
manger scene of
Christ, born
unto a world
so in need of
salvation is so
like our own
world - pain-
fully suffer-
ing. But the
manger
scene has
no life, ani-
mation or action, un-
til the story of Christmas resides in our
being. And the peace we receive from
God is the same peace we give, as the
light of Christ breaks into our darkness,
our souls and into our sin to free us for
salvation.And it comes from above the
glitter and the tinsel of the falseness of
Christmas to illumine the world with
the gift of God's grace found in a man-
ger, because God .so loved' the world
that He gave it His Son... on this most
sacred day we call `Merry Christmas'.
The party that would never stop talking is de-
termined not to let anyone else get a word in.
The New Democrat government has imposed
closure, using its majority to cut off debate, tra-
ditionally the most dreaded act in the parlia-
mentary lexicon, no fewer than four times in
four weeks.
The NDP used the guillotine, as it also is
called expressively elsewhere, to stop talk on
bills supposed to set up one-stop services for
seniors, streamline land development, re -jig
workers' compensation and manage forests.
In little more than four years in office the
NDP has cut off debate an unprecedented 20
times.
By contrast the Liberal government which
preceded it up to 1990 imposed closure only
four times in five years and the Progressive
Conservatives only three times in the previous
42 years, although many at the time thought the
Tories arrogant and acting as though they had a
divine right to govern.
All this is ironic because the NDP in opposi-
tion more than other parties loved to talk. The
NDP for part of the 1960s had only seven of
108 MPPs, but seemed to take up more time
than the other parties combined.
The NDP also had more than its share of
good talkers, including Stephen Lewis, Jim
Renwick, Donald C. MacDonald and later the
new premier, Bob Rae, so that often it was well
worth listening to.
The NDP often used its freedom to talk pro-
ductively by scrutinizing legislation down to
the last comma, pointing out flaws and some-
times forcing changes, although at times it de-
layed for delay's sake.
The NDP was responsible for the two most
flagrant wastes of time. Peter Kormos set the
record for the longest speech, 17 hours, in 1990
filibustering Liberal legislation on auto insu-
rance on the ground the NDP had a better solu-
tion, publicly owned insurance.
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Your Views
Letters to the editor
December 25 CHRISTmas
... don't let the non Christians try
and take Christmas away from
Christians.
Dear Christian Friends;
I believe that Christians need to put more empha-
sis in CHRISTmas. Tell the world what CHRIST-
mas really means. A Savior was born to save the
sinful people from everlasting fire. This country has
celebrated CHRISTmas for many, many years,
don't Ict the non Christians try and take that away
from Christians.
Stand up for Christ because if we don't who will.
Pray for the Holy Spirit 10 go into the hearts of the
unbeliever in Christ so that they will have a change
of heart.
Have a Blessed Christmas!
Earl Keller
Dashwood
NDP no longer likes to talk
The NDP also talked and delayed for a year a
Liberal bill whose end result would have been
to allow shopping on Sundays with the com-
plaint that it would end the traditional pause
day and be unfair to store employees.
These were wastes not merely because they
delayed bills which inevitably would be ap-
proved, but also because, when the NDP got in
government, it concluded that public auto insu-
rance would be too costly and allowing stores
to open Sundays made good economic sense
and abandoned the policies for which it had
held up the legislature so long.
Oprt ie rare occasions when Tory or Liberal
governments cut off debates, Rae was outraged.
He claimed that a provincial government had
no authority to impose closure and it was 'of-
fensive to basic principals'.
Rae pleaded repeatedly in opposing subse-
quent closures that an opposition party's only
power is talk and if a government takes this
away, it robs it of all it has.
But none of this has mattered to Rae in gov-
ernment. The opposition parties today talk too
long at times, but this is simply a price of de-
mocracy.
The NDP has cut them off appreciably quick-
er and changed the pules so that an MPP cannot
speak longer than 30 minutes. It will not allow
other parties the luxury of a Peter Lormos.
The NDP cuts off debates earlier first because
it wants to get its policies in practice. has to
face an election within months and has only 16
percent in the polis, so its time could run out.
When the NDP shortens debates, the legisla-
ture also sits less and the government has to
face fewer question periods that Afford the op-
position parties their most effective forum.
The NDP has squelched talking so that in
1994 the legislature sat only 71 days, the few-
est since distant times when governing was a
part-time hobby. The party that liked to talk has
no zest for listening.
4
Almonift