The Bishop of Fulham’s
Christmas Message

Christmas Day 2005

The angel’s cry is ‘Peace on earth, goodwill towards men’ and the Christ-child brings us a real image of the love of God and of the human potential. We Christians should be peaceful people. We should continually seek to address tensions in our own lives, in our own families, in our communities and in the world. It is very easy to allow fallen humanity to erode what Christ brings.

Whenever I find myself looking at the crib, I am reminded that what we see is beautiful but is also corrupt, dirty and not what anyone would wish for the birth of their child. It is the Christ-child that beautifies the crib and transforms a squalid scene into one filled with awe. In a similar way the Christ-child, lived with and worked with, can transform you and me. We Christians need to accept that not only are we re-born in Christ but Christ is re-born in us and should live through us. When other people encounter you or me they should in a real sense see the Christ-child who has come to redeem them. That is part of the essence of being Christian and living in the World.

May you have a Holy and Blessed Christmas.

+John Fulham