“Some people have worried that Christmas might be cancelled this year. Some have even felt that it would be better if the whole of 2021 had been cancelled. It has been another unsettling year for the human race, and us as individuals. We have seen turmoil in many nations, disruption of everyday lives, crises, calamities, and dangers across the world and in our own communities.
“When our lives are shaken as they have been shaken and are being shaken, it makes us think about what really matters in life. What is our deepest desire? What is it that we really long for in our lives? The shallow answers of more possessions, more comfort, more money, more fame or whatever – these will no longer satisfy us, and we look for that which meets our deepest longings.
“Christians believe our longings are met in the God who knows us and loves us. Every Christmas we tell again the story of that God, who loves our world so much that he chooses to come among us – not because he is obliged to, not because we have asked him to, but simply out of grace. We always begin with grace, and we always come back to grace, shown in the sign of Emmanuel (‘God with us’), in Jesus Christ, born as a baby among us. No law, no government, no power on earth can cancel the wonder and grace of that birth.
“I hope you find time this Christmas to let that wonder and grace fill your heart.”
