THE STORY OF BETHLEHEM ASKS HARD QUESTIONS

The story of Bethlehem is a story of hope, of new beginnings and new opportunities of a life offered for others. The story of Bethlehem asks hard questions if we are content to live in a world where many are without hope driven to desperation and sucked into evil because of the sheer hopelessness of their situation.

At a time of economic belt-tightening, many who were living on the very brink are feeling themselves to be pushed over that brink into hopelessness. The real poverty that exists is sometimes obvious, but too often it is hidden. For that very reason it is terrifying for those who simply do not know where next to turn.

We are often deeply shocked by the sheer scale of poverty overseas, and so we should be but there are problems nearer home that do not receive the same publicity and these must occupy us to a far greater extent. A century and more ago countless charities were set up to tackle these problems, and institutions established to provide care. To our eyes today some of the solutions offered have outlived their usefulness, but we must not fool ourselves the needs are greater than ever.

The tragedies of peoples overseas are brought very close to us by the international media, and for that we must be grateful. The sad thing is that we have become less sensitive to those just down the road from us. Those just down the road may be Irish or from overseas their colour, their creed, their ethnic origins have nothing to do with the responsibilities we have.