Bishop Robert Ellison’s Christmas Message 2007
Roman Catholic Church

Brothers and Sisters,
Year after year, we greet one another at Christmas with ‘Happy Christmas’. In doing so, we invoke God’s blessings and peace upon one another.
This custom goes back to the very night when Christ was born. An angel of the Lord appeared to some shepherds and told them about a great joy to be shared by the WHOLE people.

A little while later, a host of angels sang the praises of God, crying out ‘peace on earth to all men of goodwill.’ This was the first time in human history that one particular item of news became good news of great joy for all people. And that Good News was: ‘Today, a Saviour has been born to you, he is Christ the Lord’.
In the wonder of the Incarnation, the Word of God was made flesh and was given the name Jesus - because he would save his people from their sins. And in Him, we see our God made visible.

 A Saviour? A Saviour can only help those who need salvation, or more accurately, those who recognize their need for salvation. And if God left it entirely to ourselves, many of us would never be saved. So often, what we call our needs, these are not in fact needs. They are more opportunities in which God comes to us knocking on the door of our hearts, opportunities which Jesus Himself has lived or experienced during his days on earth. There is no human pain or suffering that He has not gone through personally. That is why one day he invited his disciples to come to Him to find rest and comfort from the weariness that comes from the burdens of daily life.

Our first instinct is to run from poverty, hardship, dependence, humiliation...God in Jesus has embraced all these situations of need. He was born in Bethlehem poor and homeless, helpless and completely dependent on Mary and Joseph for his survival. In the circumstances, they were simply unable to give him anything better. And that must have been an awful experience for them also. What a contrast from the message of the Angel at the Annunciation: that the child to be born to Mary would be King and Son of God most high! Joseph must have had some difficult moments trying to work out in his own mind if Mary had really heard such words. From now on, our faith invites us to see our poverty as a share in God’s poverty (as Joseph and Mary had to do). “He became poor for our sakes, so that through his poverty we might become rich’. Poverty can be material or spiritual or both. And so whenever we experience weakness, hurt, the loss of a loved one, loneliness, disappointments, .....we should not try to run away from them or hide from them. If we can accept them as opportunities, then we can begin to share in God’s power, his patience, his mercy and compassion...

God therefore does not remove our burdens; he asks us to carry them as Jesus did himself. And he assures us that his yoke is sweet and his burden light. In this way, he asks us to ‘transform’ our needs into opportunities to be saved. He asks us to be part of his saving and redeeming mission - for ourselves and also for each other.
Just as the first Christmas marked the beginning of a new era in human history, each of us is called to make this Christmas the beginning of another era in our relationships with God and with one another. Every ‘Happy Christmas’ that we utter must become a sign of good news of great joy for the whole people: of unity and solidarity among ourselves; of reconciliation, understanding and peace among all men and women of goodwill.
This year, our feast of Christmas comes very soon after the Muslim feast of Tobaski -also called the feast of the sacrifice (Eid ul’ Adha).

On behalf of the Roman Catholic Church I want to wish the Imam Ratib of Banjul and all our Muslim brothers and sisters a belated happy feast of Tobaski and may the Almighty God protect and bless you and your families today and always.
We are aware of the deep religious significance which this feast means for you, commemorating, as it does, Abraham’s great sacrifice - a sign of his total submission or surrender to God.

We also, as Christians, look to Abraham as our father in faith, as the one who was ready to sacrifice his son, his only son, when God asked him to do so. We look to Abraham who at God’s call went forth, in a spirit of faith and obedience, into a land not knowing where he was going.
This surely is one of the most important spiritual values for any believer. Whoever sincerely tries to surrender his life to God (even if at times he fails) will surely come to experience a deep inner peace. And that peace is always contagious.

As-Salaam Aleikum.
Glory to God in the highest and peace to his people on earth.

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Christmas Message 2007 From The Rt. Rev. Dr. S. Tilewa Johnson Bishop of Gambia
Anglican Church

Dear Reader,
It is always wonderful to celebrate the birth of a baby – a new person joining the human race. In our culture in Africa our children are central to the family unit; and the birth of a baby is celebrated by the community. The naming of the baby is an important part of the baby’s rite of passage into the community.
At Christmas we celebrate the birth of a baby – born over 2,000 years ago.

This was no ordinary baby, but an important part of God’s saving purpose for His world. The baby was given the name of “Jesus”, which means “the Lord saves”. This name was told to Joseph, to whom Jesus mother (Mary) was betrothed, by the angel – the messenger of God – when Jesus’ forthcoming birth was announced. The name indicates Jesus’ place as the culmination of God’s saving purpose.

Another name for Christmas is “The Incarnation”. This is the time when we celebrate the fact that our almighty and all knowing God took the form of a man to live on earth with us for a while. This man was Jesus – the incarnation of God. Jesus was eventually to give his life to save us from sin, and rise from the dead to conquer death and give us a chance of immortality.

Through Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, we have been reconciled with God. The relationship between God and human kind, damaged by sin in the fall of humankind as reflected in the story of Adam and Eve, has been healed. The name that reflects the act of God in coming to live alongside us is “Immanuel”, or “God with us”. Jesus reveals to us the nature of the God who we worship. As St. Paul puts it in his letter to the Colossian Church –
“He is the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15). In taking the form of a human being, God honoured our humanity. In the Book of Genesis, we are told that human beings – man and woman – are made in the image of God.

We now reflect upon how the world is saved through God taking human form.
Jesus was fully human and fully divine. We can, therefore, only surmise from all this that human life is sacred: it is to be honoured and respected: and it is to be preserved if at all possible. What does this say about the state of our world, and our responsibilities as inhabitants of this world?

During his earthly ministry Jesus showed great compassion for those who were exploited, marginalized or poor. He said he came to those who were lost. He proclaimed the Kingdom of God, where the will of God would be done and all would live in the presence of God. When the Kingdom shall come in all its fullness, there shall be no need for fear: fear of want: fear of harm and danger: fear of pain and sickness. The Kingdom is coming, but not yet here in its fullness. The Church is the Body of Christ on earth now. As human beings we all have a responsibility to our neighbour. If we see someone in want, we share what little we have. If there is true injustice, we peacefully point out what this may be, and call for a return to justice for all.

We do not judge. We are called to recognise the image of God in all our fellow human beings, and accept that person as they are. Of course, there has to be order in society, and the law is called to ensure this – with a balance between justice and mercy.
We cannot deny that we see much suffering in our world. It is quite apparent that the sanctity of life is not recognized as it should be.

However, we have the great comfort that our God understands the trials and tribulations we face. He has experienced life on earth as the person, Jesus. He felt, in his own body, the pain of torture and death. He knew what it was to be betrayed by friends. He experienced the extremes of both physical and mental pain.
God is ready and willing to empower us to minister to those who suffer. He is alongside us in our own sufferings. The God who became incarnate in man. Jesus, more than 2,000 years ago, can become incarnate in our lives today, as we seek to do His will. If we honour God, we must necessarily honour our fellow human our fellow human being, who is made in the image of God. Archbishop (Emeritus) Desmond Tutu of South Africa used to say that if we are the type of person who bows or kneels to the light in a church that indicates the presence of God, we should do the same to each person we meet, who also holds the image of God deep within.

Today we celebrate the birth of Jesus, in whom the nature of God was revealed in its fullness: whilst at the same time human nature was seen all its fullness. Christmas is a good time to reflect upon the mystery of the image of God within each of us. If we abuse our world, and particularly our fellow human being, the image of God in us is hidden, and our humanity is diminished. If we honour and respect our world and fellow human beings, this can lead to a culture of peace where God is glorified. If this is undertaken within our close communities, the effect – which will begin in a small area – can spread to the wider community, and even the nation. Just imagine what this could mean for world peace if both leaders and people undertook such an approach of life. By God’s power, it is possible.

This Christmas, let us be inspired by the birth of the baby more than 2,000 years ago. To seek to build peace in our world and within ourselves must be a worthy cause.
May deep and lasting peace and joy be yours this Christmas.
 
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CHRISTMAS MESSAGE 2007 From The Revd Norman A. Grigg, Chairman and General Superintendent of The Methodist Church, The Gambia

It is my privilege and joy to bring you Christmas greetings on behalf of the Methodist Church in The Gambia - and I pray that the peace, love and joy, which this season brings, may be known to everyone in our hearts, in our lives and in our world.

Christmas will be celebrated throughout the world and billions of people will be together with families and friends and enjoying good food and good company on what will be a holiday for most of them. After all, we shall be celebrating a birthday - a birthday which has a worldwide significance.

CHRISTMAS BRINGS A MESSAGE OF GOD’S LOVE FOR THE WORLD

One of the best known verses in the Bible is found in John’s Gospel, chapter three and verse 16 - where it says: ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life’.

It is a text that is taught to children and recited by all Christians at some time - because it summarizes a central theme of the Christian faith and is the central reason for the celebration of Christmas. The four words “God sent his son’ sum up the story of the birth of a baby in a stable at Bethlehem, who - so Christians believe - was the Son of God - sent by God - and who showed God’ s love in his life and ministry.

The reason - according to the Scripture verse - was that ‘God so loved the world’ - and you will notice that it doesn’t say he loved just ‘the good things’ or ‘the good people’ or ‘the religious people’ of the world - it says the world, without any distinction or any exclusion - and that means the whole creation, the good and the bad parts, the rich and the poor, and all people regardless of gender, race, religion or creed. God loved his whole creation.
We are fortunate to live in a peaceful country where everyone can follow their own faith without fear or favour - yet we do not have to look very far to know that this is not the case in every nation - in fact there is so much conflict, so many wars, and so many angry people that some may question how we can talk about peace and joy and love in the world as we know it. Some may even ask’ Does God still loves the world as much as he did in the days of the writer of the Gospel’?

CHRISTMAS BRINGS US A MESSAGE THAT GOD CONTINUES TO LOVE

How can He love a world where there is obvious injustice and oppression, where there are countless examples of the violation of human rights, where there are conflicts and divisions that separate families and friends, and a multitude of hardships and disasters, which make people’s lives unbearable? How can we speak of love, peace and joy when millions around the world do not experience liberty and peace?

All of these are legitimate questions - yet, the story of Christmas remains a story of God’s love in the world - a story of his intervention in the heartbreaking situations that we can all too often see and sometimes experience, breaking through the barriers that we erect and demonstrating that God cares and God acts and brings hope and joy and light - where we can only see despair, misery and darkness.

He loved the world so much that ‘the Word became flesh and dwelt among us’ and if we look with the eyes of faith we can ‘behold His glory’ - yes, even in the world of today.

When Jesus was born it was at a time when the Romans occupied Palestine and the Jewish nation had to live with the restrictions that the occupation made on their lives. There were the same human and natural disasters as we experience today yet, it was in spite of that occupation and that world scene that Mary and Joseph found joy and love in the birth of Jesus - it was in spite of the Roman occupation and in the midst of economic hardships that the shepherds came to visit a family of modest means and discovered great joy and peace and it was in spite of those circumstances the Wise Men came to offer their gifts to the child.

So when ‘God so loved the world’ the state of that world was not so different from the way it is today.

CHRISTMAS DEMONSTRATES THE LOVE OF A FATHER

I heard of a mother who was told off by a friend of hers for always providing a home for one of her sons, even though that son was always getting into trouble - he’d been in prison twice, he had stolen from his own family members - he had never been able to find a job and he was always borrowing money and never paying it back - the friend said to his mother ‘I don’t know why you keep letting him back into your home. If he was my son, I would have thrown him out of the house long ago and let him find his own way in life’. ‘But you don’t understand’ said the mother ‘he’s NOT your son - he’s my son and I will always love him and my home will always be his home’.

Now maybe there are times when a mother’s love won’t re-act like that but we also know, from our own experience, that when a parent loves a child that is a love that doesn’t change just because the child doesn’t turn out to be perfect.

When we talk of God we call him Father - and we call him a God of perfect love - so we can be sure that His love for his world and for us as his children - continues in spite of the way we have not loved him as we should - and his love for the world has not diminished from the moment of creation.

That is an essential part of the Christmas message. The demonstration of God’s continuing love for the world brings light into darkness and when we see evil being done, Christmas allows us to believe in the goodness which all men and women are capable of doing, when we see people hating their fellow human beings, Christmas allows us to believe in the ultimate power of love and forgiveness, when we see war, violence and terror, Christmas allows us to believe in the power of peace and non-violence.
So today I bring you the season’s greetings and pray that the joy, peace and love that is the message of Christmas may be with you and remain with you throughout the coming year.