[Propertalk] Fwd: ACNS4761 Archbishop of Canterbury's Christmas Sermon

[Joe Parrish]

Forwarded:
Archbishop of Canterbury's Christmas Sermon
Posted On : December 25, 2010 12:41 PM | Posted By : Webmaster
CNS: http://www.aco.org/acns/news.cfm/2010/12/25/ACNS4761
Related Categories: Lambeth 

In his traditional Christmas sermon, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr
owan Williams, focuses on how the birth of Jesus is but one stage of
he fulfilment of God's unchanging promise of support in the struggle
or human redemption, how 'the story of Jesus is the story of a God who
eeps promises'. 
So Christmas is a time of coming to terms with God's all embracing and
edemptive love for us, despite the cost and the tragedy involved, the
uman failures and betrayals. God, he asserts, despite our limitations
nd the humiliation our weaknesses lay on him, realises " we cannot live
ithout him; and he accepts everything for the sake of our well-being"
In this Christmas context, Dr Williams urges us to first of all
ontemplate our mutual dependence on our fellow human beings - our need
or a spirit of fellowship and loyalty to each other in sharing the
urdens of adversity in difficult economic times:
"Faced with the hardship that quite clearly lies ahead for so many in
he wake of financial crisis and public spending cuts, how far are we
ble to sustain a living sense of loyalty to each other, a real
illingness to bear the load together? How eager are we to find some
pot where we feel safe from the pressures that are crippling and
errifying others? As has more than once been said, we can and will as a
ociety bear hardship if we are confident that it is being fairly
hared; and we shall have that confidence only if there are signs that
veryone is committed to their neighbour, that no-one is just forgotten,
hat no interest group or pressure group is able to opt out."
And he points to the need for us to work positively together in order to
ebuild trust:
"That confidence isn't in huge supply at the moment, given the massive
rises of trust that have shaken us all in the last couple of years and
he lasting sense that the most prosperous have yet to shoulder their
oad. If we are ready, if we are all ready, to meet the challenge
epresented by the language of the 'big society', we may yet restore
ome mutual trust. It's no use being cynical about this; whatever we
all the enterprise, the challenge is the same - creating confidence by
haring the burden of constructive work together."
In the same way, the Archbishop also urges us to embrace the meaning of
he forthcoming royal wedding, to recognise the significance of the
hristian bond of marriage as a symbol of hope for humanity:
"Next year, we shall be joining in the celebration of what we hope will
e a profoundly joyful event in the royal wedding. It is certainly cause
or celebration that any couple, let alone this particular couple,
hould want to embark on the adventure of Christian marriage, because
ny and every Christian marriage is a sign of hope, since it is a sign
nd sacrament of God's own committed love. And it would be good to think
hat I this coming year, we, as a society, might want to think through,
arefully and imaginatively, why lifelong faithfulness and the mutual
urrender of selfishness are such great gifts." 
And in comparing Christian marriage with our covenantal relationship
ith God, the Archbishop reflects on - not only the trials of marriage -
ut also the inspirational examples of some marriages which he has seen:
"There will be times when we may feel stupid or helpless; when we don't
eel we have the energy or resource to forgive and rebuild after a
risis or a quarrel; when we don't want our freedom limited by the
ommitments we've made to someone else. Yet many of us will know
arriages where something extraordinary has happened because of the
ersistence of one of the parties, or where faithfulness has survived
he tests of severe illness or disability or trauma. I admit, find
yself deeply moved at times when I speak with the families of
ervicemen and women, where this sense of solidarity is often so deeply
arked, so generous and costly. As the prince and his fiance get ready
or their new step into solidarity together, they will have plenty of
nspiration around, more than you might sometimes guess from the chatter
f our culture. 
And finally Dr Williams asks us to remember during this time of
hristian celebration our brothers and sisters in many lands who suffer
epression and persecution for their Christian faith: 
"I remind you of our Zimbabwean friends, still suffering harassment,
eatings and arrests, legal pressures and lockouts from their churches;
f the dwindling Christian population in Iraq, facing more and more
xtreme violence from fanatics - and it is a great grace that both
hristians and Muslims in this country have joined in expressing their
olidarity with this beleaguered minority. Our prayers continue for Asia
ib in Pakistan and others from minority groups who suffer from the
buse of the law by certain groups there. We may feel powerless to help;
et we should also know that people in such circumstances are
trengthened simply by knowing they have not been forgotten. And if we
ind we have time to spare for joining in letter-writing campaigns for
ll prisoners of conscience, Amnesty International and Christian
olidarity worldwide will have plenty of opportunities for us to make
se of."
 
The full Christmas sermon text is below:
 
'This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken through the prophet'.
hrases like this echo like a refrain through the nativity stories in
he Gospels - and indeed the stories of Jesus' trial and death as well.
he stories of Jesus' birth and death were, from the very first, stories
bout how God had kept his promise. The earliest Christians looked at
he records and memories of what had happened in and around the life of
esus and felt a sense of d�j� vu: doesn't this remind you of...? Surely
his is the same as...? 
Bit by bit, they connected up the details of the stories with a rich
attern of events and images and ideas in Hebrew Scripture. Utterly
nexpected pregnancies - like Abraham's wife Sarah, or Hannah, mother of
he prophet Samuel. A birth in Bethlehem, where Jacob's wife died in
ringing to birth the last of the ancestors of Israel, where an
mpoverished young widow from an enemy country was welcomed and made at
ome, to become the grandmother of the great hero King David. Shepherds
n the fields of Bethlehem where young David had looked after his
ather's flock before being called to be shepherd of the whole kingdom.
 star like the one foreseen by the ancient prophet Balaam as a sign of
srael's victory; foreigners bringing gifts of gold and incense, as the
salm describes foreign potentates bringing tribute to King Solomon . A
urderous attack on the children of God's people by a Godless tyrant, a
esperate flight and an exile in Egypt. The plain event at the centre of
t all, the birth of a child in a jobbing handyman's family, is
urrounded with so many echoes and allusions that it seems like the
limax of an immense series of great happenings; like the final
tatement in a musical work of some theme that has been coming through
gain and again, more and more strongly, in the earlier bars. The last
riumphant movement in God's symphony.
The story of Jesus is the story of a God who keeps promises. As St Paul
rote to the Corinthians, 'however many the promises God made, the Yes
o them all is in him'. God shows himself to be the same God he always
as. He brings hope out of hopelessness - out of the barrenness of
nhappy childless women like Sarah and Hannah. He takes strangers and
akes them at home; he brings his greatest gifts out of those moments
hen the barriers are down between insiders and outsiders. He draws
eople from the ends of the earth to wonder - not this time at the glory
f Solomon but at the miracle of his presence among the humble and
utcast. He identifies with those, especially children, who are the
nnocent and helpless victims of insane pride and fear. He walks into
xile with those he loves and leads them home again.
This is the God he has shown himself to be; and he has promised that he
ill go on being the same God. 'I am who I am' he tells us; and 'I, the
ord, do not change', and 'I will not fail you or forsake you.' When we
re faithless, he is faithful; when we seek to escape or even to betray,
e does not change. In what is perhaps the most unforgettable image in
he whole of Hebrew Scripture, God says that he has 'branded' or
engraved' us on the palms of his hands (Is.49.16). He has determined
hat he will not be who he is without us. And in this moment of climax
nd fulfillment, in this last movement of the symphony, he shows in the
ost decisive way possible that he will not be without us; he binds his
ivine life to human nature. Never again can he be spoken of except in
onnection with this human life that begins in the stable at Bethlehem.
>From one point of view, then, a story of triumphant persistence. Nothing
as shaken God's decision to be with those he has loved and called, and
ow nothing ever will. Nothing, as St Paul again says, can separate us
rom what is laid bare in the life and death and resurrection of Jesus.
nd yet from another point of view, it is a story of unimaginable cost
nd apparent tragedy. For if God has chosen to be with us in this way,
e is associated with our weaknesses, humiliated by our betrayals,
xposed and vulnerable to our casual decisions to take our custom
lsewhere. In the book of the prophet Hosea, we see this depicted in
arrowing terms as the marriage of a faithful man to an unfaithful
oman, a marriage which the man refuses to accept is over. I suspect
hat a good many of us have seen cases of a faithful woman sticking
bstinately to an unfaithful man. In human terms, such faithfulness is
ikely to look na�ve, foolish or just pointless self-punishing. But God,
t seems, knows that whatever limitation and humiliation our human
reedom lays on him, we cannot live without him; and he accepts
verything for the sake of our well-being.
Christmas is about the unshakeable solidarity of God's love with us, not
nly in our suffering but in our rebellion and betrayal as well. One
ediaeval Greek theologian, deliberately out to shock, described as
od's 'manic passion', God's 'obsession'; manike eros. And so it is a
ime to do some stocktaking about our own solidarity and fidelity, our
wn promise-keeping. 
There are at least three things we might ponder in that respect, seeking
o understand ourselves better in the light of the Christmas story. The
irst is our solidarity with one another, in our society and our world,
ur solidarity with and loyalty to our fellow-citizens and fellow-human
eings. Faced with the hardship that quite clearly lies ahead for so
any in the wake of financial crisis and public spending cuts, how far
re we able to sustain a living sense of loyalty to each other, a real
illingness to bear the load together? How eager are we to find some
pot where we feel safe from the pressures that are crippling and
errifying others? As has more than once been said, we can and will as a
ociety bear hardship if we are confident that it is being fairly
hared; and we shall have that confidence only if there are signs that
veryone is committed to their neighbour, that no-one is just forgotten,
hat no interest group or pressure group is able to opt out. That
onfidence isn't in huge supply at the moment, given the massive crises
f trust that have shaken us all in the last couple of years and the
asting sense that the most prosperous have yet to shoulder their load.
f we are ready, if we are all ready, to meet the challenge represented
y the language of the 'big society', we may yet restore some mutual
rust. It's no use being cynical about this; whatever we call the
nterprise, the challenge is the same - creating confidence by sharing
he burden of constructive work together.
The second is something quite different, but no less challenging. Next
ear, we shall be joining in the celebration of what we hope will be a
rofoundly joyful event in the royal wedding. It is certainly cause for
elebration that any couple, let alone this particular couple, should
ant to embark on the adventure of Christian marriage, because any and
very Christian marriage is a sign of hope, since it is a sign and
acrament of God's own committed love. And it would be good to think
hat I this coming year, we, as a society, might want to think through,
arefully and imaginatively, why lifelong faithfulness and the mutual
urrender of selfishness are such great gifts. If we approach this in
he light of what we have just been reflecting on in terms of the
hristmas story of a promise-keeping God, we shall have no illusions
bout how easy it is to sustain such long-term fidelity and solidarity.
here will be times when we may feel stupid or helpless; when we don't
eel we have the energy or resource to forgive and rebuild after a
risis or a quarrel; when we don't want our freedom limited by the
ommitments we've made to someone else. Yet many of us will know
arriages where something extraordinary has happened because of the
ersistence of one of the parties, or where faithfulness has survived
he tests of severe illness or disability or trauma. I admit, find
yself deeply moved at times when I speak with the families of
ervicemen and women, where this sense of solidarity is often so deeply
arked, so generous and costly. As the prince and his fianc�e get ready
or their new step into solidarity together, they will have plenty of
nspiration around, more than you might sometimes guess from the chatter
f our culture. And we can all share the recognition that, without the
nspiration of this kind of commitment in marriage, our humanity would
e a lot duller and more shallow - and, for the believer, a lot less
ransparent to the nature of the God who keeps his covenant.
And lastly, a point that we rightly return to on every great Christian
estival, there is our solidarity with those of our brothers and sisters
lsewhere in the world who are suffering for their Christian faith or
heir witness to justice or both. Yet again, I remind you of our
imbabwean friends, still suffering harassment, beatings and arrests,
egal pressures and lockouts from their churches; of the dwindling
hristian population in Iraq, facing more and more extreme violence from
anatics - and it is a great grace that both Christians and Muslims in
his country have joined in expressing their solidarity with this
eleaguered minority. Our prayers continue for Asia Bibi in Pakistan and
thers from minority groups who suffer from the abuse of the law by
ertain groups there. We may feel powerless to help; yet we should also
now that people in such circumstances are strengthened simply by
nowing they have not been forgotten. And if we find we have time to
pare for joining in letter-writing campaigns for all prisoners of
onscience, Amnesty International and Christian Solidarity worldwide
ill have plenty of opportunities for us to make use of.
Economic justice and Christian marriage and solidarity with the
ersecuted - very diverse causes, you might think. But in each case, the
ey point is about keeping faith, sharing risks, recognising that our
ives belong together. And all this is rooted for us in that event in
hich all God's purposes, all God's actions, what we might call all
od's 'habits of behaviour' with us come into the clearest focus. 'This
as to fulfill what the Lord had spoken'; this was the 'Yes' to all the
romises. And what God showed himself to be in Hebrew Scripture, what he
howed himself to be in the life and death of the Lord Jesus, this is
hat he ahs promised to be today and tomorrow and for ever. He cannot
etray his own nature, and so he cannot betray us. And by the gift of
he Spirit, we are given strength, in all these contexts we have
onsidered and many more, to let his faithful love flow through us, for
he fulfillment of more and more human lives according to his eternal
urpose and unshakeable love. 

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