“Christmas is coming
the goose is getting fat
Please put a penny
in the old man’s hat
If you haven’t got a penny
a ha’penny will do
If you haven’t got a ha’penny
then God bless you.”
Dear friends,
If you are my age, then you will remember that old English nursery rhyme whose lyrics first appeared in the 1880s. Of course, in today’s popular culture we don’t often think about the fattening of geese or of even having a crispy-skinned deliciously prepared goose as part of our holiday traditional meals with families and friends.
Sadly, in today’s “popular” culture far too many individuals have been taught to loathe those who are out on the streets of this world living homeless existences. These fellow humans have been unable to find employment or enough money for shelter due to their life experiences or perhaps due to mental health challenges or addictions. Many in this world are quick to kick at them, hurry by them, and to encourage having the homeless punished or dispersed, “out of sight and out of mind.”
The words of that rhyme represent some of the challenges of British society in the 1880s when there were many poor out on the streets due to the combined impact of increased industrialization, rapid population growth, and a trade slump that led to an extremely high rate of unemployment in British cities. A significant percentage of English city dwellers at that time lived in abject squalor with limited food options, and there was no sense of any safety net in society to provide care for them.
And so this editorially focused rhyme was not written as a children’s poem but as more of a teaching lesson for those “with,” about those who were “without.” I find that here in the year 2025, as Christmas approaches more and more folks are losing their sense of compassion, understanding, empathy, and mercy as the gap between the haves and the not-haves increases. Perhaps we need to clearly hear the words again.
However, the Christmas message I want to hold onto, and that I hope that you are grasping as tightly as possible in your thoughts and actions, is the message from Jesus Christ whose birthday we will again celebrate on December 25th. “That which you have done for the least amongst you, you have done for me.” Of course He also explains, “When you haven’t provided for the least of those amongst you, you have chosen not to care for me.”
I remember the man pictured above in a Sacramento park; he was playing music while asking for food or change. He was smiling as he pointed out to me a particular bench that he referred to as his bed. I can’t remember the man’s name, but I can hear his voice somewhere deep in my mind singing the songs that touched his poor heart.
When you consider Christmas this year, and if you have more than you really need in life, perhaps, just perhaps, you might have a penny or more to put in the hat for some old man, young woman, or child who is on the streets or living in poverty or just wondering how they’ll make it through the winter. There are more of them now in need of our help. At St. Paul’s we do our very best to care for as many as we can thanks to your help.
Blessings,
Pastor Dave