Christmas Musings

No snow drifts, sleet or ice storms but neither the welcoming summer day we expect for Christmas in Sydney. No as I took my nine AM walk under skies of a pronounced grey gloom the neighborhood seemed to respond in kind. No squeals of children trying out new trikes or the latest in motorized scooters. No kites though the gusty breeze would have presented a fine launch pad. The only children I encountered seemed apprehensive in the company of their father who was watching his mobile phone as if waiting the signal from the space craft that would deliver them from the triangle of park they occupied to a parallel universe with sun or snow or something to delight in. Another father in another park was preparing to play with his son’s remote control helicopter about the size of a sparrow. This son was going to have to wait a few days, possibly a year before he would be allowed to take the controls, that’s if dad didn’t loose or break it in the blustery conditions today. Few other humans crossed my path on this 3.2K walk and those that did were either off to the train to fulfill their essential service or walking dogs with nary a jolly Ho Ho Ho to be heard from any of them. Even the birds seemed despondent when spotted at all, a bunch of Lorokeets there on the power lines motionless but for the fluffing of feathers. No screeching and swooping this morning. A lone crow wandering mournfully in the gravel between the railway lines seems to sum up the mood of melancholy. Maybe the sun will shine and the air warm up this afternoon as it often does to provide some Christmas cheer. Meanwhile we’ll have to search elsewhere for it, maybe in a bottle.
Oh dear! Now look what I’ve done. I’ve got everyone saying “O poor Robert” or at least I hope I have, for it should be obvious to all that being so indulgent as you see, I am thoroughly enjoying myself. No it’s I who owe you an apology for such a gloomy description of a day which we all anticipate with hopefulness and joy. I hope you can appreciate that contemplation of such gloom helps us to appreciate the excitement and joy that we feel in bright sunshiny warmth. Without rain and cold we could not possibly enjoy sunshine and warmth so it makes good sense then to also enjoy rain and cold as I do, well up to a point.
Well that’s the lesson for today. Mass tomorrow will be at the normal weekly timetable. Merry Christmas and blessings to all of you.
Fr. Robert