Christmas Day Message from the Bishop of East Anglia: "I call on all people of good will to join with me in proclaiming the great message of peace in the midst of a world torn apart by violence."
A Christmas message from the Rt Rev Bishop Peter Collins, Bishop of East Anglia
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
As Christmas approaches, we rejoice to reflect upon the events surrounding the birth of Jesus Christ. However, it is so easy to be distracted from what should be our abiding focus.
We are surrounded with voices and influencers that entice us to package Christmas in the wrappings of commercial excess and superficial trimmings.
In the account of the Lord’s Nativity, found in St Luke’s Gospel, context is given to the events taking place in Bethlehem. Reference is made to the fact that at the time Augustus was Caesar in Rome and Quirinius was his Governor in Syria.
Jesus Christ was born into a world where political oppression was firmly embedded, born into an environment where the value and dignity of human life was under constant threat. The Infant Jesus was wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger within an animal stable, subject to all the severities of poverty.
Yet this is the child who, in his maturity, would address the world in every age with the message of salvation, with a proclamation of eternal hope.
At the birth of Jesus, led by Mary and Joseph, there were but a few men and women who caught a glimpse of his true identity. The angels of heaven, however, could not remain silent and their voices resound across the centuries as they sing ‘The Great Carol’: ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!’
I rejoice to offer you all my Christmas greetings and I call on all people of good will to join with me in proclaiming the great message of peace in the midst of a world torn apart by violence. I pray that God’s blessing will rest upon every home, upon every human heart.