Rector's View - December 2010

Dear friends,

What is the heart of the Christmas message? Christians do not believe in a God who gazes down on us impassively. ‘We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God … For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven … and was made man’ – at the first Christmas.

It is an absolutely incredible truth – that God was made human. He became like us, giving us the chance to become like him. He didn’t need to do this – he did it because he loves us. He has chosen to live amongst us in our mean, sometimes lonely, world; in our quarrelsome, battered human family.

At Christmas we welcome God’s Son into our world; into our communities; into our homes and families; and into our hearts. Small gestures, kind words, can help us to feel the love of the vulnerable Christ-Child, who cares so much as to make himself like us.

To love at all is to be vulnerable – it is to risk rejection. Love anyone or anything and we risk being hurt.

In the weakness and vulnerability of the baby of Bethlehem we see the love of God, alongside us in our weakness and vulnerability. He made himself vulnerable in order to share our pain and sorrow, as well as our happiness and joy. Jesus Christ is always there for us as our constant friend and travelling companion, fully sharing our human experiences. As he wept when Lazarus died, as he shared a meal with friends, as he celebrated at a wedding, so he continues to do all those things with us. The glory of God comes to us in a child in a manger – in the unexpected, in the humble.

The truth of Christmas is that God has fully entered our lives. He is with us – whenever we need him, whether we are aware of his presence or not, he is there alongside us – each and every day.

I look forward to seeing you at one or more of our Christmas services. Our Carol Services can be found on the service pages. Then, later on Christmas Eve, we celebrate the Midnight Mass at Lidgate, beginning at 11.30pm.

Benefice Services on Christmas morning are at Denston at 9.00am and at Wickhambrook at 10.30am.

May God grant to you and to all whom you love, a truly happy and blessed Christmas.

With every blessing.

Stephen

Revd Stephen Abbott

News Letter Archive.