Commentary: Why Advent is the perfect time to focus on global AIDS
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The Rev. Constance Smith (right) and Lonny LeFever light a candle during the
2006 “Lighten the Burden” Conference on HIV/AIDS in Washington.
A UMNS file photo by Erik Alsgaard.
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A UMNS Commentary
By the Rev. Donald E. Messer*
Nov. 21, 2008
People frequently ask why World AIDS Day is observed at the beginning of Advent.
"Talking about people suffering from HIV and AIDS seems inappropriate in
a season focused on joy," say pastors as they excuse themselves from
taking up special offerings to fight AIDS.
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The Rev. Donald E. Messer
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When the annual Dec. 1 World AIDS Day was initiated in 1988 by
government health officers, most church leaders were more likely
expressing condemnation, not compassion, and showing more stigmatization
than ministry towards persons infected and affected by HIV and AIDS.
Now, more than 25 years into an escalating global pandemic that has
killed 27 million people, infected another 33.2 million, and left 16
million AIDS orphans struggling to survive, Christians are awakening to
the crisis and searching for ways to put their faith into action.
Advent proves to be a perfect time to demonstrate that religious belief
is not simply liturgy without meaning or ritual without substance. The
four Advent Sundays before Christmas signify a season for “waiting” or
making oneself ready for the coming birth of Jesus, the Savior of the
world.
Reflective of this “waiting,” many churches light a new candle each
week, using a few liturgical words. Typically, in successive weeks,
candles are lit for hope, love, joy and peace. Instead of offering
generalized spiritual pabulum, a focus on global AIDS can infuse special
poignancy into the Advent celebration.
Lighting the Advent candle of hope
When lighting the Advent candle of hope, remember all those
people in the world waiting for medical treatment to restore and
maintain life. Anti-retroviral drugs are now available that can
keep most of the 33.2 million infected people alive and productive, but
only 3 million have access. The rest are waiting for someone to care.
Pregnant HIV mothers around the world yearn for two small pills costing
less than $5 that will stop the transmission of the virus from mother to
child during birth. Thanks to medicine provided to mothers in Africa
and Asia through the United Methodist Global AIDS Fund, innumerable
children have been saved. What a wonderful way to celebrate the birth of
Jesus, the Christ, by keeping a newborn baby AIDS-free!
On the second Sunday, when the Advent candle of love is ignited,
remember how most persons infected with HIV say that worse than having
the disease is the way people treat you. Imagine being sick while you and your family are being shunned or mistreated.
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The Rev. Donald Messer visits with AIDS orphans in Malawi at
a center supported by the United Methodist Global AIDS Fund.
A UMNS Web-only photo courtesy
of the Rev. Donald Messer.
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In Thailand, I saw families discard their fathers, mothers, sons and
daughters at a Buddhist AIDS hospice, never returning to see them or
even to reclaim their ashes. In India, I often enter women’s AIDS wards
and discover women not only dying but also dying alone, because the
women are blamed for the disease, even if their husbands have infected
them.
Thanks to the United Methodist Global AIDS Fund, seminars educating
against fear, prejudice, stigma and discrimination are being held not
only in Asia, but also in Latin America and Africa. At a project
designed to combat stigma in Kenya, a farmer living with HIV told me
that he had discovered that “Methodism was love in action."
Lighting the candle of joy
When the candle of joy is lit on the third Sunday, remember the
elation and happiness of HIV-positive persons when they encounter
compassionate Christians who offer care and assistance. United
Methodists working in partnership with other Methodist traditions,
ecumenical friends, and non-government organizations are bringing joy to
the hearts of people who otherwise would only know sorrow and pain. A
Methodist militia of mercy is being mobilized around the world that
transcends denominational lines and national boundaries.
In Sierra Leone, Kenya, Mozambique and many other places, AIDS orphans
rescued from the streets know the joy of safety, education and food
because of help received from donations given to the United Methodist
Global AIDS Fund.
In a crudely built wooden church with dirt floors in Mzuzu, Malawi, I
saw 100 AIDS orphans being provided care due to a gift from the fund. I
shall never forget the joy in their faces when they received a simple
piece of bread with a little squash spread on it.
Malnutrition combined with AIDS continues to keep many HIV positive
children from ever getting to blow out their candles on their second
birthday, much less light an Advent wreath.
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The unclaimed ashes of AIDS victims lie before a stature of
Buddha at a Buddhist AIDS hospice in Thailand. A UMNS photo
courtesy of the Rev. Donald Messer.
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The illumination of the fourth Advent candle signifying peace
provides opportunity to remember the spiritual dimensions of the global
AIDS crisis. The good news is that HIV is a preventable disease and
people who are educated on how to avoid infection can experience the
peace of mind that comes from knowing that they and their loved ones are
not in danger.
United Methodists believe in comprehensive evidence-based prevention. A
Norwegian United Methodist missionary nurse has toiled faithfully for
over 30 years in India. In recent years, she has moved her clinic into
the dusty, dirty, hot and humid "dhabas" or truck stops near Agra. There
she does AIDS testing and distributes educational materials to
thousands of migrant truckers, urging abstinence, faithfulness to
partners and proper use of condoms.
Being infected by HIV also provokes deep spiritual questions, like "Does
Jesus love even me? Will my church accept me?" In response, Upper Room
Ministries, in cooperation with the United Methodist Global AIDS Fund
and the Center for the Church and Global AIDS, has created a special
devotional booklet. More than one-half million copies of Prayers of Encouragement in 12 languages have been distributed.
Nothing is more profound or comforting than knowing and experiencing the
peace of God even when struggling against stigma and the ravages of
AIDS. Last Christmas, women in sub-Saharan Africa included a copy of
these prayers and scriptural readings in the 5,000 food buckets they
prepared for distribution in South Africa and Mozambique.
Symbolizing the birth of Jesus
Fifth, when the final Christmas candle blazes to symbolize the
birth of Jesus, recall how hope can conquer despair and impossible
possibilities can become reality. The logo of the United Methodist Global AIDS Fund proclaims we are "helping to create an AIDS-free world."
An East German once told me how she had met a "crazy" English woman.
Amid the Cold War, a woman outside London declared she would light a
candle every night until the Berlin Wall crumbled. "I thought what a
waste of time," said the East German, "but two years later the
unbelievable happened."
Within two years time, the entire world will not be AIDS-free, but
thanks to Advent offerings from United Methodists that support programs
of education, prevention, care and treatment, many people around the
globe will be thankful that their personal worlds are AIDS-free.
To support the United Methodist Global AIDS Fund, give to UMCOR Advance
No. 982345. Make checks payable to the United Methodist Committee on
Relief and include the Advance number on the check. Checks can be
dropped in church collection plates or mailed directly to UMCOR at P.O.
Box 9068, New York, NY 10087. Credit card donations can be made by
calling, toll-free, (800) 554-8583 or online at http://new.gbgm-umc.org/umcor/give/manyways/.
*Messer is author of Breaking the Conspiracy of Silence—Christian Churches and the Global AIDS Crisis.
He is also executive director of the Center for Church and Global AIDS
and chairperson of the United Methodist Global AIDS Fund Committee.
News media contact: Marta Aldrich, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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