Often I feel that injustice and suffering are increasing. Or is it simply that I hear and see more of it every day? Am I paying too little attention to all the good that happens each day?
Christmas — is it really just a religious holiday for one religion, for Christians?
Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, a human being and spiritual teacher who brought new values into the world through his life. He turned the Jewish faith and its teachings of his time upside down. The clarity and radical nature of his message, his “lived” life story, leave no questions unanswered.
Jesus was a revolutionary; to follow him meant opposing the prevailing political and religious order. In the end, he paid for it with his life.
So when we celebrate Christmas, a central message is: “Love your neighbor as yourself,” meaning that all people and all life on this planet are my neighbors.
A new ethic. The interconnectedness of all living things implies care and responsibility for one another. David Steindl-Rast speaks of love as the lived “yes” to belonging.
What does all of this have to do with the Austrian Doctors?
Our humanitarian aid includes people regardless of religious affiliation, political beliefs, skin color, and much more.
Our work now goes beyond medical care and direct aid to the sick: we support schooling and nutritious meals for disadvantaged children, kindergartens for parentless children, vocational training, and scholarships for boys and girls to complete higher education.
We work to build sustainable infrastructure by creating essential foundations for an independent life: providing water through solar-powered wells, managing fields, ensuring safe livestock farming, and promoting self-sufficiency and autonomy for our partners and friends on site.
None of these initiatives is too small, and none is meaningless.
They are all part of this commitment and this community. For that, a heartfelt thank you!
We wish you all a peaceful and restorative Christmas!
Your Austrian Doctors, Christian Gruber
