Pastor Brian Houston, Senior Pastor, Hillsong Church
Dean Phelan, CEO, Churches of Christ QLD
Rev. Dr Ross Clifford, President, NSW Council of Churches
Archbishop Hart, President, Australian Catholic Bishops Conference
Dr Greg Clarke, CEO, Bible Society of Australia
Martin Drevikovsky, General Secretary, Anglican Church of Australia
Darlene Zschech, Hope Unlimited Church
Rev Richard Fox, Director, Lutheran Media, Lutheran Church of Australia
Commissioner James Condon, Salvation Army
David Cook, Moderator General, Presbyterian Church of Australia
Rev Dr Keith Garner, CEO, Wesley Mission
Most Reverend Glenn Davies, Anglican Archbishop of Sydney
Pastor Keith Jobberns, National Ministries Director, Australian Baptist Ministries
Bishop Dr. Yuhanon Mar Diascoros, Indian Orthodox Church
Rev. Professor Andrew Dutney, President, Uniting Church of Australia
Bishop Sarah McNeill, Anglican Diocese of Grafton
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Pastor Brian Houston, Senior Pastor, Hillsong Church
Peace has come.
Perhaps that may seem an odd statement given the world in which we currently find ourselves – the events of these past few weeks alone undoubtedly cause all Australians to feel that peace is not near at all. But can I encourage you with the reality that “true peace” is able to (miraculously) enter the most difficult or pressing circumstances and bring hope.
Jesus’ words are clear in the gospels that record his time on earth. He said that this world would experience war and trouble, but that “his promise” is one of peace and confidence amid the challenge. In fact, the very peace he experienced and carried, he promised to leave with us. (John 14.27)
Peace is not merely the absence of external trouble – it is the “presence of a Saviour” who cares about the human condition.
Everything Jesus Christ did pointed to peace. When the judgmental religious people of the day gathered to brutally stone a woman who had offended an ancient moral code – he instead offered peace, forgiveness and justice. Where people mourned and experienced pain and heartache – he brought peace, comfort and healing. For those haunted with fear, regret or doubt – he extended peace, freedom and restoration.
This same peace is still available and accessible today.
That first Christmas Day was surrounded by tension, much like the tensions we are experiencing in our own country today. Cultures, kingdoms and nations were clashing, and people were desperately waiting, needing and looking for a peacemaker. It was into this turmoil that a baby boy child was born. The God of all mankind clothed himself in flesh and entered the insanity of a lost world in order to bring sanity. He made a way for all people and became “the way” for all cultures and all nations to be reconciled back to peace eternal.
Our prayer on this Christmas morning in 2014 is that the world would overflow with people who not only desire peace in their own experience, but also are committed to become carriers and agents of peace to the world around them.
Our prayer is that division and prejudice would give way to acceptance and embrace. That instead of fear, we would be able to offer faith that introduces people to a truly faithful God. Our prayer is that families, neighbourhoods and communities alike will feel the “tangible calm” this Christmas because light, love and peace are prevailing through the goodwill of one to another.
Two thousand years ago, over a humble stable in a town called Bethlehem, an angelic host sang and declared because indeed the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords and the PRINCE OF PEACE had come.
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Dean Phelan, CEO, Churches of Christ QLD
Take time this Christmas to stop and give thanks.
This year is almost over but not before we gather to celebrate Christmas, each in our own special way. Christmas can be a difficult time for some of us bringing to the fore memories of lost loved ones or past family conflicts; For others it is looked-forward-to time of extended connecting with the people that we love. It really is a privilege to have the freedom to celebrate this holiest of occasions.
This Christmas, I encourage all readers to take a few moments to stop and look around you – to be present in the now, and to look with fresh eyes, from your family to your workplace and truly see those who have made a difference to you and those around them. Bring some light into their world with two simple words, thank you.
Over the past 12 months we have seen many memorable events to give us cause to stop and be thankful for what we have and what we sometimes take for granted.
From the unfathomable loss of hundreds of lives aboard airliners, beheadings of innocents to the passing of celebrities and sporting greats, there have been immense outpourings of public grief for those that we know and those we have never met. For the time we share with loved ones, for those that searched for the missing and care for those left behind, we are thankful.
The widespread outbreak of Ebola and other illnesses claimed many lives during the year, but has spurred individuals and nations to act together to alleviate the suffering these afflictions have caused and stop their spread. This is a truly heroic task and one that we continue to be thankful for.
Natural disasters again shook our local communities, from hailstorms to fires; thankfully we were spared wide loss of life and serious injury, despite the widespread damage to property.
Abroad however, other countries weren’t safe from the ravages of nature’s power or that of civil war and terrorist acts. Think of those who are lost and effected and be truly thankful we have been spared.
We too must be thankful that in Australia we have the right to practise religious freedom, no matter what we believe, or not believe in. Other countries aren’t so lucky and this year we saw further acts of oppression and violence against those with differing beliefs and ideals.
The G20 came to Brisbane and thanks to good planning, a spirit of collaboration and the laidback Australian way of life, we were spared the troubles that have marred similar events previously. We hope and pray the G20 talks lead to positive change for the world.
The spirit of giving, both locally and abroad, were shown through the raising of funds and awareness from everything from worldwide ice bucket challenges to our own Connect 2014 dinner, generating generous donations for our community chaplains.
During 2014 we watched as some heroes fell and new ones were created, all the while not realising that we are surrounded by heroes and can be heroes ourselves. Thankfully heroic acts can be seen in sometimes unheralded work such as protecting children and caring for the elderly. You too can be a hero simply by volunteering or donating.
Personally I am thankful that this Christmas our staff, pastors, and volunteers will be working across Queensland and Victoria, as they have done 24/7 throughout the year, bringing the light of Christ into communities.
We, along with those from countless other Christian organisations, are thankful for the gift of Jesus Christ, who brought joy and light into the world with His arrival at Christmas. He truly is the reason for the season and in His name we give thanks.
I wish everyone a great Christmas, and may the Light of the Lord fill you with hope, joy, courage and love both now and always. May the New Year bring you new moments and people to be thankful for.
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Rev. Dr Ross Clifford, President, NSW Council of Churches
This Christmas season reminds us again how vulnerable we are, with the tragic death of Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes on November 27, and the horrific Lindt Café siege in Martin Place on the night of December 15 claiming the lives of innocent victims Katrina Dawson and Tori Johnson.
As we have been drawn together as a nation by these events, we recognise the deep sense of spirituality we share. Nearly all of us, from politicians and media commentators to ordinary persons, have responded to these tragedies with heartfelt thoughts and prayers.
In the light of this, the Christmas message calls us back to the hope that each of us holds on to, a hope that helps make sense of the world around us when events distress us. Our hope is not misplaced as we look at the person of Jesus this Christmas, who is God with us, Immanuel.
The Christmas story also reminds us that we may be poor in spirit, but Jesus raises us up and invites us to share our experience of the grace and compassion of God with others.
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Archbishop Hart, President, Australian Catholic Bishops Conference
May I wish you and your families a happy and holy Christmas. Thank you to all who work so tirelessly for our Church throughout Australia. I pray that 2015 will bring you many blessings of hope, health and happiness.
You can read the full Christmas address by Archbishop Hart, here.
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Dr Greg Clarke, CEO, Bible Society of Australia
The Christian claim is very specific, and until that is clear to Australians, our Christmas yearnings will remain vague and approximate. But they are there, they just need watering, directing, guiding, informing, convicting. That’s the job of Christians this Christmas. The ears of Aussies are willing to listen.
Australia has never been riper to receive the words of eternal hope and security found in Jesus Christ.
The Christianity that ‘came from the north’ has taken root in the Great Southern Land. But the roots need to bud, bear fruit and flower, and make this place fragrant and bountiful in spirit as it is in so many other ways. This Christmas, amidst the tragedy, we have another opportunity to nurture those roots.
What Christmas provides is an opportunity to imagine that your instincts, your hunches, your deeper desires, might get satisfied. The story of Christmas, in all of its theological detail—so offensive to Islam, so unlikely to the Eastern faiths—really is our great hope. The baby born in the first century really was God touching Earth in a meaningful and comprehendible manner. God was pleased as man with man to dwell, the incarnate deity, as the theologians (and the carol composers) say.
Read Dr Greg Clarke’s full Christmas address, here.
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Martin Drevikovsky, General Secretary, Anglican Church of Australia
Behold, I make all things new…
Once again, we advance through Advent to Christmas.
Here in the Antipodes, the celebration carries extra significance for many because it coincides with the summer break. We experience the pressure of the end of the financial year, but with goodwill and hope one doesn’t normally associate with the mundane. Transformation and transcendence are central to the Christmas message. Jesus: from baby to authoritative teacher and charismatic leader; from manger, to an itinerant life, to heavenly kingship; from vital earthly life to gruesome death and beyond to heavenly life. And for us: the opportunity for damaged people to become whole. These are connecting points with hope, the essence of Christmas.
This Christmas brings change for me. As my term as General Secretary comes to an end, I express my appreciation to the many who have supported me in my role.
Best wishes for peace at Christmas.
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Darlene Zschech, Hope Unlimited Church
Merry Christmas to all. I love this time of year, it truly is one of my favourite. I love the sights, the sounds and all things Christmas. I am busy preparing for a great day with family and friends, the tree is decorated, gifts are bought, carols are echoing through our home and it really is beginning to feel a lot like Christmas. That being said, I have my Christmas cakes yet to bake and I love making them.
Today, I’d like to share a special gift with you. This is one of my favourite Christmas songs ever. I love hearing it and when I get the opportunity to sing it, it truly touches my heart.
Click HERE and you will be lead you to a space to download and I pray that this song blesses you as you go about this beautiful season.
All glory to God for ever and ever.
Darls xo
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Rev Richard Fox, Director, Lutheran Media, Lutheran Church of Australia
My soul glorifies the Lord
and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour,
for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant (Luke 1:46-48)
Every day the sound of a crying baby is heard all over the world, as 350,000 new babies are born. Each one of them is unique, and hopefully they will all be welcomed and loved. On Christmas Day the world celebrates the birth of a child. Christmas is not just for children, it is about one child who was born as a gift for all of us.
When we look at the face of a baby, who do we see? Maybe mum, dad or a grandparent?
When we think about the baby born to us at Christmas we are meant to see ourselves – he is just like us – human, frail and vulnerable. But we are also meant to see the face of God, because Jesus who was born at Christmas, is also God himself, God coming to live with us, as one of us.
We all have hopes for our children, just as our parents had hopes about us when we were born. God invites us to pin our hopes and fears, our sins and tears, and our faith on this child. He wants the joy of Mary and Joseph, the shepherds, and the angels to be ours today. He wants us to put our past, our present and our future, our life and our death in the hands of this Christmas child, and God promises that he won’t let us down.
Thankyou Jesus for coming into the world as one of us and for us. Take everything I am into your hands and love me, I pray. Amen
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Commissioner James Condon and Commissioner Floyd J. Tidd, Salvation Army
The angels song echoed across the hills of Bethlehem on that first Christmas, and now cascades down through the centuries, “Peace on the earth…”. Yet today as on that first Christmas night, there is a deep and unsatisfied longing for peace in so many corners of our world. The message of Christmas however is that peace is possible. Not simply an absence of conflict, but a deep and abiding peace that seeks alternatives to violence and pursues the best for others.
This Christmas season, may the reign of the Prince of Peace born in Bethlehem extend through His church around the world bringing hope, light and peace to all who long for a word of good news. The shepherds left the side of the manger rejoicing, and declared what they had come to know from the angels to be true. So may His church today rejoicing, proclaim peace, bring good news and proclaim salvation.
Let there be peace on earth–a turning away from violence and a turning toward one another in love–and let it begin with us.
It is our prayer this Christmas season that you might experience afresh the deep peace and of the presence of the Prince of Peace and may it overflow from your life to all that you meet throughout the coming year.
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David Cook, Moderator General, Presbyterian Church of Australia
Christmas is an easy target for the preacher. We all know there is too much food and drink, too many parties and gifts. If the preacher criticises our celebration every year, the result for those who come once a year is that they hear again what we are against and we may come across as angry, life denying scrooges.
Ours is a momentous message, we must not let either our manner in declaring it or some side issue not central to it, be a barrier to people’s hearing what we say.
Read David Cook’s full Christmas message, here.
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Rev Dr Keith Garner, CEO, Wesley Mission
Health professionals tell us that we live in a more anxious society. We are told by social commentators that there is much to worry about.
While around one in four Australians suffer from anxiety at any one time, our experience of life can lead us to believe that figure to be much greater. Christmas is a time to alert each other to this matter and to reach out to offer hope to those around us who need a helping hand.
Each night our television news reminds us of fear on our city streets – terrorism alerts, unprovoked assaults fuelled by alcohol, drive-by shootings, and a drug culture which damages and destroys too many lives… and too many families.
We feel we are unable to change our circumstances. Parents feel powerless in relationship to their children, workers often feel unacknowledged and stressed and all too often our roads become an extremely dangerous setting where people seek to purge their insecurities and fears.
I meet young people who wonder whether they will ever be able to buy a home. And equally their parents worry about their future in a nation that was once described as the “lucky country”. The poor and disadvantaged have no choice: skyrocketing rents exclude them from ever gaining secure long-term accommodation. More young people are searching for non-existent jobs. All this is hard to handle at Christmas.
We are also fearful of world events: the ongoing brutal conflict in Syria and Iraq, the threatening pandemic of Ebola in Africa and the ever deepening crisis in Ukraine. We are fearful about the future of the US and Chinese economies.
For many people the tension emerges when they recognise their inability to change their situation. Some people retreat into isolation, others lash out in anger; some grow anxious and despondent.
At Wesley Mission we care for thousands of people who walk the path of fear and anxiety every day. They are people who know the extremes of life: the homeless, the broken-hearted, the struggling sole parent, the lonely and the aged, the unemployed and those dealing with mental health issues.
This Christmas our Lifeline counsellors will take crisis phone calls from anxious, lonely and often disheartened people, while other Wesley Mission workers and volunteers will provide meals and care for the homeless, families at risk, children longing for the love of a family, and older Australians who are far removed from family and friends.
Life can seem to be gradually losing all its meaning … and attempting to carry the burdens of life can be crushing. We look for answers. After a catalogue of challenges, we can remind ourselves of something better. The good news is that we are not alone this Christmas: Jesus Christ has come into this world for us all, no matter who we are or what our circumstances. God is not distant and detached; he is with us and knows our fears and even our doubts.
Like our current world, the realm into which Jesus Christ was born was fearful and full of conflict.
Yet in the midst of this darkness came a great light: the infant born in Bethlehem is the light of the world. We do not have to be the captive of our fears or beholden to an anxious future. New life begins by trusting him: a vulnerable child in a stable – God’s gift who has changed – and will continue to change the world.
When we take hold of this gift, we allow ourselves to enter into the kind of happiness which will never be shallow, but can be found even in the most difficult of situations. A place where we can truly say “happy Christmas.”
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Most Reverend Glenn Davies, Anglican Archbishop of Sydney
This week we mark 100 years since the 1914 Christmas truce – the time the guns fell silent in World War One, the war to end all wars.
Incredibly, English and German soldiers emerged from their trenches singing carols and in a gesture of truce, played football in no-man’s land. There was for a brief moment – a point in space and time, when peace and joy burst forth amid the horror of warfare.
In Australia, 2014 has not brought us the turmoil of a world war but we still saw many signs of our broken world, with the strains of discord, hatred and fear.
We experienced the pain of loss and the frailty of life, e
specially young life, which hit us hard.
Even in the cradle of Christianity, we heard of persecution, destruction and the seeming triumph of evil.
At times like this we rush to prayer and we expect God will be listening.
Our turning to God in prayer is only possible because of God’s own ‘Christmas truce’. The Bible says the angels sang “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests.” God declares his peace for humanity – by giving us Jesus, the Prince of Peace.
He walked this earth and knows the frailty of human life. He died and rose to reconcile us to God.
We can be confident to call on God, knowing that he hears us, he understands us and he loves us.
That is something to celebrate.
Happy Christmas to you all.
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Pastor Keith Jobberns, National Ministries Director, Australian Baptist Ministries
Do we really need Christmas? How many times have you asked this question over the last few weeks?
Do we really need all the tension and stress created by the activities associated with this time of the year? The Victorian Department of Health has an online ad, titled “Christmas Tips to Reduce Stress.”
The retail sector certainly needs Christmas according to the Federal Treasurer. “Don’t let Santa down, go out there and spend for Christmas,” Mr Hockey told ABC radio. Christmas sales are estimated to be worth $40 billion.
Do we really need Christmas?
Yes, because it gives us the opportunity to refocus on several significant features of contemporary life.
The Christmas story as it unfolds in the Bible is associated with family reunion. Jesus birth is local family event. The shepherds on the Bethlehem hills discovered the newborn baby in the simplest of family scenes. Christmas is an opportunity to reaffirm the importance of family; an opportunity to commit to working to strengthen families and not weaken them. Let’s especially remember families in difficult circumstances, in refugee facilities, isolated indigenous communities, drought affected rural areas and sole-parent families.
Secondly, Christmas reaffirms the value of giving over and against receiving. The Bible narratives of the first Christmas record that the wise men came bearing gifts for this newborn baby, who would change the course of human history. Everyone needs to feel someone is really interested in him or her and gifts give tangible expression to this basic need. Sadly the possibility that as a nation we are going to further reduce our gifts to the less well-off in our world by further reducing Foreign Aid is a disappointing commentary our national gift giving ethos.
Christmas ultimately provides the opportunity to focus on the bigger picture of history. To be reminded again that our personal spirituality yearns for hope that transforms. Christmas marks the intervention of the eternal creator God into the personal history of every one of us. Eugene Peterson in the Message Bible puts it simply: “And this sublime Word became flesh and blood and moved into our neighbourhood.” God with us and for us.
Yes we really do need Christmas!
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Bishop Dr. Yuhanon Mar Diascoros, Indian Orthodox Church
Christmas is the festive season to reflect and celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is a special time to join together and rejoice that He came to Earth.
As we are preparing to celebrate yet another Christmas, We are concerned about the persecuted and displaced Christian communities across the Middle East from Egypt to Armenia and also about the ongoing violence against Christians in Nigeria and Pakistan. We are living in a world filled with violence and hatred. Peace is nowhere to be found. In our own lives, we struggle to find peace with ourselves.
The birth of Jesus brought Glory in the heavens and Peace on the earth. Jesus came to restore our broken relationship with God so that we could first experience wholeness and peace with ourselves, and then extend it to others around us.
This Christmas season, let us join hands to bring Peace and happiness to others around us, in our communities, cities, and the world we live in. We pray for our brothers in the Middle East, Nigeria and Pakistan. May God Almighty fill their lives with his divine peace, love and grace.
We also pray for the children in immigration detention. We ask the Government to release all children and their families from immigration detention.
Wishing everyone a blessed, peaceful Christmas and a prosperous New Year.
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Rev. Professor Andrew Dutney, President, Uniting Church of Australia
“…the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; and we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father.” (John 1:14)
On behalf of the Uniting Church in Australia, I greet you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ whose birth we celebrate this day; Jesus, the incarnation of God.
You probably know the stories–shepherds and angels, a star, a stable and the wise men.
But it’s still astonishing to me that the Almighty God entrusted the mystery of the incarnation to an ordinary teenage girl and her husband.
Delivered into the world in the usual way, with all the drama and risk inherent in childbirth, the Son of God had to be fed, washed, clothed, comforted, and kept safe like any vulnerable little baby.
That simple first century Jewish family had to teach him to speak, to say please and thank you, to behave himself, to share with his siblings.
But first they had to flee to Egypt, barely escaping the slaughter of children in Bethlehem.
They became an ordinary refugee family–entrusted with the mystery of the incarnation. And that’s what I’d ask you to think about today.
The revelation of the nature and will of God, the fulfilment of the hope of the world, was entrusted to the care of an ordinary refugee family.
And when, as a grown man, Jesus taught and healed and suffered and was killed, and when he was raised from the dead, it was as the child of an ordinary refugee family.
He called us to welcome the stranger, knowing a thing or two about being a stranger himself.
He commanded us to love our neighbour, knowing how essential neighbours are to daily survival, let alone peace.
He commanded us to love our enemies, knowing about being “the enemy” as well as having enemies, and how love can transform our relationships and our world.
Jesus, the child of an ordinary refugee family is being remembered and celebrated today, in a world with a record 50 million refugees, more than half of them children.
As a people blessed by wealth and peace, we Australians need to be very mindful of the needs of our neighbours who seek asylum and find ways to do more.
We also need to expect more of our political leaders.
The Uniting Church with the other Australian Christian Churches continues to speak out against the inhumane treatment of refugees and their families under the policies of successive Australian Governments.
We urge the Australian Government to increase the annual intake of refugees, and to redouble efforts to secure the safety of the thousands of new refugees throughout the world and especially in the Middle East.
In the course of this year many Christians and people of other faiths have joined together to make sure that decision-makers hear our voices on this important issue.
Over the last few months I’ve also been heartened by the number of Australian Christians reaching out in solidarity and friendship to their neighbours of the Muslim faith.
Violence and conflict elsewhere in the world is a reminder that we must always be working for peace where we live as well.
From church signs and neighbourhood parties to sharing meals or chores, I encourage you all to reach out to your neighbours of every faith or none in the year ahead.
God has given us a great bounty of cultural, linguistic and spiritual diversity to share and enjoy.
So let’s not accept or create unnecessary barriers between us and our neighbours.
Let’s make today and the year ahead a time of peace and goodwill among us all – in celebration of the birth of Jesus, the child of an ordinary refugee family and the incarnation of God.
Thank you for sharing your time with me and I wish you all a safe, happy and blessed Christmas.
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Bishop Sarah McNeill, Anglican Diocese of Grafton
The birth of Jesus calls us to many things – but a visitor from outer space, looking at our society today, would probably conclude that those things are frantic celebration, stressed-out shopping expeditions and depression.
Let us listen to the beat of a different drum and truly use these weeks to prepare our hearts to celebrate the birth of Jesus.
In choosing to enter our world and live as a human being, bounded by time and space, God has revealed divine reality to us in the most direct way possible.
Jesus shows us who God is.
His life, teaching, ministry, death and resurrection show us what God’s saving love means: acceptance for the outcast, forgiveness for those whose wrong- doing causes them guilt and pain, healing for the ill.
Jesus’ message was clear – God loves humanity uncondi-tionally, passionately, transformingly.
As our hearts embrace Jesus,
Grace and peace
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Image: Stephen Brent on Flickr, used under CC License.
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