Archbishop

FROM THE ARCHBISHOP OF YORK, STEPHEN COTTRELL

This time last year we all woke up to a very different sort of Christmas than we imagined. Many of us found it a struggle – being on our own or not being able to visit friends and family that we love.

This year, of course, we hope and pray that many of the familiar experiences that help Christmas come alive will return to our homes, our schools, our churches and communities. I wonder what might be at the heart of your plans for Christmas 2021? One of the best things about Christmas is being with others. Lots of jokes are made about friends and relatives and the challenge of helping the family get on with one another, but actually, it is a joy. The first Christmas night over 2000 years ago was a busy one in Bethlehem. The town was crowded out and Mary, exhausted from giving birth to Jesus, had visitors. We don’t know if she and Joseph had family nearby but they certainly had a crowd of shepherds turn up. Shepherds were not held in high regard, unimportant in society, yet a whole host of angels appeared to them, the insignificant, the forgotten, to tell the great news of the birth of a baby - the gift of Christ, the gift of God come down to earth, the God with a human face. I am saying to myself this Christmas: enjoy being with those who are so important to you and tell them you love them. The story of Christmas is the story of God coming close to us. But in an unexpected way. God doesn’t send us a message, but a messenger. Jesus is the messenger of God’s love. I can love because God loves me… and you… and shepherds…and visitors at Christmas, even the relations! The story of that first Christmas also challenges us to reach out to those who we may struggle to get on with, or who society doesn't think are important. The lost, lonely and forgotten. How can we find a way to 'visit' them as people of friendship and peace? We first may need to find quiet moments of stillness and peace to gather our thoughts and pray. The more we invest inwardly the more we'll feel able to visit safely and energise others. We hope and pray that many of the familiar experiences that help Christmas come alive return to our homes, churches and communities. But whatever else December brings, it will offer us an opportunity to enter more deeply into the joyful mystery that lies at its heart: God becoming human in the birth of Jesus Christ. This year’s Church of England Christmas initiative, At the heart of Christmas, is an invitation to everyone to discover – or rediscover – the good news of God’s saving love as revealed in the birth of Jesus. It is also a challenge to each of us to ponder in our hearts – as Mary did – what the extraordinary events of the first Christmas might mean for us now and in the years ahead. You can find out more www.churchofengland.org/ resources/advent-and-christmas2021-resources-heart-christmas

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