The following Bible passage, reflection, prayer and action are taken from Surefish's Daily Readings, which can be found here

Arise! Shine!

Away with oppression

Something to read

If you remove the yoke from among you,
the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil,
if you offer your food to the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the afflicted,
then your light shall rise in the darkness
and your gloom be like the noonday.
The Lord will guide you continually,
and satisfy your needs in parched places,
and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water, whose waters never fail.
Isaiah 58:9b-11 (NRSV)

Something to think about

How is it possible to make ‘light shine in darkness’ this Christmas in a world in which the ‘yoke’ of oppressive injustice still weighs heavy on such a large proportion of the world?

In Indian villages the dalit communities sing a song called ‘We are the shadows of the world’. Dalits (sometimes called ‘untouchables’) are part of a caste system which means that if you are born into poverty it is very difficult to escape it. So dalit people get the hardest jobs (like cleaning sewers by hand), are paid the least money, and are often scorned.

Thangamani and her husband Chinnakannu were nearly ruined six years ago when he lost his job for refusing to break the law - a sadly typical example of how dalit people are treated. The legal costs could have led them into desperate poverty and hunger.

A Christian Aid partner called Activists for Social Alternatives helps dalit people through training, making them aware of their rights to counter injustice, and giving small loans to help them begin work so as to restore their dignity and make their way out of poverty.

They have given Thangamani loans to buy a gem polishing machine and to have electricty connected to her house for the first time so that she can operate it.

Something to do

Dalit Christians understand the message of Christmas to be one of hope - light to break into darkness and liberation to end oppression through the birth of Jesus in humble circumstances.

Something to pray

God of all, it is so hard to live on the margins -
lonely and forgotten, despised and dependent.
Remember me.
Put back my confidence,
restore my dignity,
and walk down the edges with me.
Then, knowing you Lord, my light shall rise,
rise in hope.
A dalit prayer from the Church of South India

Today in history

On this date, Adrian Plass felt led to keep a sacred diary.

It is St Nino’s Day, a fourth-century slave in Georgia who cured a dying child with her miraculous hair shirt on him. The Queen summoned her to treat her own illness, but Nino refused to shame the palace with her humble presence, so the Queen had to go to Nino. This was supposedly the start of Georgia’s conversion to Christianity.

Image of the day

In Ethiopia's Shawe Internal Displaced Person's (IDP) camp, a mother and her children wait to see a doctor in the government clinic.

Advent Calendar:
December 15

Pantomime dates back to the Italian Commedia dell’arte, beginning in the 16 th century. Pantomime is closely associated with Christmas in the UK – find a local performance and shout ‘it’s behind you’ at the appropriate moment!

Advent tip of the day:
Grow your own

Food prices are going up so why not think about growing your own organic veg next year or giving your mate the chance to grow theirs – saving cash and carbon emissions. You don’t have to be a gardening expert; all you need is a beautifully illustrated Christmas voucher from organic kitchen garden company Rocket Gardens.

Once spring arrives you return the voucher to Rocket Gardens and they send back a box brimming full of organic veg or herb plants ready for planting. You can buy the vouchers online right up until Christmas Eve.

LAST DAY TO ORDER FROM PRESENTAID

Present Aid gift idea – furnish a classroom for £51

Present Aid – gifts that count. Children in Bangladesh are eager to learn – help them out by furnishing a classroom with desks, benches and a teacher’s chair. If you want to hand over a gift on Christmas Day, add in a Christian Aid Calendar (or get one free if you spend over £40). Use the link to go to the Present Aid site and then search for the gift you want to give. Today’s your last chance today to buy something from Present Aid and get it delivered in time for Christmas.

Amazon gift idea – Winnie the Pooh BBC Radio Collection

Winnie the Pooh never goes out of date – even more so when read by Alan Bennett. Get a new generation loving 'the best bear in all the world' with the BBC Radio Collection Winnie the Pooh audio CD. Use the link to buy the gift and raise money for Christian Aid as well.

Eco gift idea – Paperpod Aeroplane

Got potential pilots in the house? They will love the flat-pack cardboard Paperpod Aeroplane – build it, decorate it, (pretend to) fly it! Use the link to go to the site and search for the gift, and raise money for Christian Aid as well.