'Open our eyes to those who are crying out for help this Advent' 

Krish Kandiah introduces a series of daily reflections he has produced for Advent, each day sharing an element of the Christmas story to help us to explore how we should respond to those in need

Last November, a small boat left France. It was full of people who were looking forward to meeting friends and family and starting a new life.

But halfway across the English Channel, the boat got into difficulties. The passengers called the coast guard for help, but despite 18 calls, each more desperate than the last, the authorities refused to send assistance.

“You won’t be saved”, one of the call operators was recorded saying. “I didn’t ask you to leave.”

At least 31 people, men, women and children, died that night.
 
It's hard to imagine how someone can hear such distress and refuse to act. How could that operator have become so desensitised that he could mock the desperate pleas of a father, even as screams are heard in the background? How could people in power clamp down on the migrant crossings knowing that their policies are only bringing more profit to the traffickers and more suffering to the vulnerable?

Equally, how could officers in the housing association in Greater Manchester continue to ignore a parents’ appeal to deal with the mould in their one-bedroom flat, causing a two-year old to die of respiratory failure?
 
This is an age-old response. Thousands of years ago, a wise King once said: “Whoever shuts their ears to the cry of the poor, will also cry out and not be answered.” (Proverbs 21:13)
 
The trouble is it is far too easy to shut our ears to those in distress. With all that is going on in the world, there are just too many people with too many problems. Millions are fleeing conflict and persecution. Millions are facing poverty. Millions are living in unsuitable accommodation.  The easiest thing is to shut our eyes, our ears, our consciences, our borders, and do nothing. 
 
That verse in Proverbs seems to connect the attentiveness we give to those in distress with God’s attentiveness to us. It claims that if we don’t care about the needs of others, we may find ourselves not only isolated from those in need, but isolated from God too.
 
To help my soul and perhaps yours too, I have produced a series of daily reflections for advent. Each day an element of the Christmas story helps us to explore how we should respond to those in need. They offer us the opportunity to invest in compassion and listen to the needs around us. 

They challenge us to open our eyes, our ears, our hearts and our homes to those who are crying out for help. 
 
 

Dr Krish Kandiah is the director of the Sanctuary Foundation, which promotes refugee welcome and welfare and is actively involved in supporting the "Homes For Ukraine Scheme"

You can sign up for the free Season of Sanctuary advent reflections here: https://t.co/f0oHQiH7BJ