Message of Abbot Paul - Christmas Day
Message from Fr Paul for Christmas Day 2021
“Do not be afraid. Behold, I bring you news of great joy, a joy to be shared by the
whole people.” We have come tonight to hear that message once more and to be filled with great joy. The birth of Jesus, the Messiah, takes all our fears away, gives us hope and reason to rejoice. Even so, for many people throughout the world, this Christmas it must be difficult to rejoice, let alone have hope.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the many families in the Philippines, whose homes and livelihoods have been devastated by the recent cyclone. Then we have millions of refugees and migrants, displaced by war, racial or religious persecution, searching for a new life and somewhere to live. We think of the people of Afghanistan without food and work this Winter and with their civil liberties curtailed, much of the suffering caused by the interference and incompetence of Western governments. Add to these, Yemen and Ethiopia and the list goes on. Those who suffer most are women and children. Why do the innocent always have to suffer the outrages of war, famine and persecution?
There can be no excuse for the suffering inflicted on the weak and vulnerable by the great and powerful. We know that there are no easy solutions to conflict, terrorism and war. What joy or hope can there be for those who are hungry and homeless, for the innocent who know nothing but violence, pain and starvation? The birth of the Son of God in a stable at Bethlehem and laid in a manger, where cattle eat, is a sign of God’s solidarity with the poor and those who suffer, above all a sign of his love for children and all who are innocent.
Jesus wasn’t born in a palace or a temple; the Messiah didn’t come into this world in a rich home or luxury hotel, not even in the local hospital. No, his companions were animals: an ox and an ass, sheep, mice and fleas. His mother Mary was a young village girl, a peasant, and the man people presumed to be his father, Joseph, a carpenter from Nazareth. They were surprised and confused at the strange events surrounding his conception and birth and now here he was, cradled in a manger, the baby whom they were to call Jesus, the Saviour who would forgive us our sins.
No sooner was he born than angels appear to shepherds, watching over their flocks by night, to tell them of his birth. “Today, in the city of David a Saviour has been born to you: he is Christ the Lord.” With the angels there appears a great throng of the heavenly host, praising God and singing, “Glory to God in the highest, and peace to men who enjoy his favour.” That new-born babe is God, the God who created all that exists, yet he comes to share our weakness and fragility, our suffering and pain. He is the Messiah, the Saviour, but God’s way of saving is not ours. It is not through pride that he saves us but through humility, bringing life through death and redemption through suffering. This child in the manger is born to die and, through his death, he will reconcile the whole of creation with God. In Christ, all suffering is redemptive, all pain has purpose and meaning, and even little children can share in God’s work of salvation, because God now shares fully in their suffering and pain.
On behalf of the Monastic Community, and not forgetting Toby, I wish you and all your loved ones a very happy Christmas. “Do not be afraid. Behold, I bring you news of great joy, a joy to be shared by the whole people.”
