I started writing this post prior to Christmas – but then other things took over. I found Christmas 2023 difficult. With all the meetings and discussions I was participating in relating to finding a pathway for women to be ordained in the Lutheran Church of Australia, I struggled to let go the tension, and pressure of the continuous discord, lack of humility and care for the other. For the first time since adulthood I did not write a Christmas letter, put up my Christmas tree and travel the journey of memory as I hung the ornaments on the tree. It just didn’t feel like Christmas.
Then, on Sunday 10 December I received the news that an ex-colleague from my Kinhill days who played a major role in my career and was a dear friend, had a melanoma that had passed to his lungs and he didn’t wish to have any visitors. It was during the Lessons and Carols service the following Sunday that the message came through on my Smart Watch that he had died that afternoon. So to all who usually receive my Christmas letter, my apology and I hope these posts keep you informed of both current and past activities in my life.
Back to the post and the painting.
Little did I know that Christmas 1987 would be the fourth successive year that I would spend Christmas without my daughter. When I accepted the role to work in Manila, Philippines in 1984 that the agreement I had made with Lisa’s father that she spend Christmas with him would mean it stretching to four years – I had only accepted a one-year assignment!
Much is made of Christmas as a time for family. It often seems that the emphasis on having families gather at this time over-shadows the real meaning of the first family of Christmas – Mary, Joseph and the Christ Child being born and lying in a manger.
Not being in a ‘family’ situation at Christmas taught me that you don’t rely on specific dates to be a family – you use every opportunity you have to be together, to be in contact, to show care and love for one another. This is not time or date dependent. It is also how Christ comes to us – not just at Christmas as a child, but through his Word, the sacraments and our neighbour.
The painting above I purchased in 1987. Just as our Sunday papers have supplements, so did the Manila Times. For Christmas that year, the front page of the Manila Times supplement had a painting similar to the one above, but mainly blue in background, while this one is brown. One of my colleagues, Dick, suggested that we find out who the artist is and see if the painting, the original, is for sale.
We tracked down the artist, Manuel Baldemor, and made arrangements to visit his studio. He was very welcoming, and Dick bought the blue painting while I purchased the above.
A tradition in the villages at Christmas is for families to make candle holders – some can be quite elaborate. They take their holders to the church on Christmas Eve and receive a candle that has been blessed for them to take home. The candle is then placed in its holder in a window of the home and the village is lit with the glow from these candles.
It is a charming practice, however it does have consequences. It was quite common to read in the newspaper of a fire that had broken out in a village from such candles. It was a real problem when there were strong winds.
Little did I know that the artist, Manuel Baldemor, would become world famous and his works now sold through galleries in the USA and Europe. For 30 years Manuel Baldemor has also provided the artwork for the UNICEF Christmas cards.
I have two other pieces of art by him – they are wood cuts which was his main medium of art in his early days.
Faye Schmidt's Thoughts 