Friends,
As we approach Christmas, our world seems so full of darkness. The darkness of the brutality of violence and war in the Holy Land, Israel and Palestine; the desperate cold and enduring suffering of those fighting in Ukraine; and other places we hear little about – Sudan, Yemen, China, North Korea – the list goes on and on. And all over the world, and here in Berkshire, ordinary people struggle with poverty and ill health. Many are anxious and afraid.
Across Berkshire, scores of asylum seekers are treated as numbers rather than people, and are being forced to relocate from the places they have become known, severing the friendships they have made, the support they have relied on, the schools their children attend. They are forced to travel to places where, once more they will have to start again, in winter and just before Christmas. Lonely and far from home.
In the Holy Land, birthplace of Jesus, brutal and horrific attacks by Hamas on innocent Israeli citizens have provoked a furious retaliation by Israeli forces. Thousands of innocents have been killed. This is the latest in a long story that has no quick solution. We long for peace. The world longs for peace.
The coming of the Saviour, Jesus Christ, which we celebrate at Christmas, is not just an ancient story. It is modern good news, which is more needed now than ever. It resonates with so much of our current experience.
We remember a young couple, who lived under Roman occupation, who were forced to travel, she heavily pregnant, to be counted at the census in Bethlehem. We remember a child, who with his parents fled Herod’s murderous rage and slaughter and found asylum in Egypt, far from home. We remember that this child, who was heralded by the angels as the Prince of Peace, grew into a man, and lived and died to show how deep is God’s love for our broken and helpless world. And that he lives on, and his Spirit shines in the darkness and brings light to our places of deepest despair.
Christmas is celebrated in our communities just after the winter solstice, as the year turns, and the daylight begins to return. We celebrate the birth of Christ with lights and songs, and food and presents.
And all around us, ordinary people, living ordinary lives, are being light-bearers, peace-makers and hope-bringers, offering friendship, help, and understanding to those in need. I hope and pray that this is the story of each one of us, as we celebrate the coming of the Saviour, and I wish you all a very happy and blessed Christmas.
+Olivia, Bishop of Reading
