Dear Friends,
“Lo within the manger lies he who made the starry skies”
Happy Christmas and happy carol singing on Christmas day and its surrounding days of celebration. We should rejoice that carols are sung in churches, in the open air and in local pubs! Worth too singing them in our hearts. Whilst we might not think of ourselves as theologians, carols contain some of the loftiest and most profound theologies; a baby that has flung stars into space, or looking down into a cattle trough and you can also look up and see the stars made by God himself. Sound too good to be true, perhaps it sounds more like fantasy and a land of fairies? At the heart of our Christian faith is a mind blowing and mind numbing reality that God himself has taken the initiative and come to be with us. All he asks is that we look, think, ponder, reflect and then have courage to sing of this reality. A reality that will always be true and will never go away because God was made flesh in Jesus. We can live and indeed will for evermore because of Christmas day. This is the real meaning of Christmas and the real source of happiness in life. Sing, pray and live a life that says Glory to God in the highest because of Jesus!
Have a lovely Christmas season of celebration and find with others its true heart. God has come amongst us and is always for us in Jesus.
The Revd Canon Mark Brown.