At the first Christmas Jesus did not have it so easy.
He too came as a stranger, in his mother’s womb, but his was a humble birth in a poor stable; there was only just enough room for him.
The ox and ass made for a smelly and unhygienic maternity ward.
His first guests were a bunch of shepherds, in those days society’s outcasts; the last people you or I would probably invite to our celebration of a new birth.
All this, however, was God’s deliberate choice.
God wanted to be with those on the edge who did not have much room.
This is a rather long article by the good bishop, yet nary a mention that Jesus came primarily to seek and save the lost. Sin doesn’t get a mention, responsibility likewise, and Christ’s saving work is not even hinted at.
Once again we see demonstrated the fundamental weakness in the CofE – a poor grasp of theology on the part of its bishops. The Queen’s Christmas speech usually carries far more basic Christianity than any episcopal sermon, and it looks like the new Bishop of Liverpool doesn’t intend to change that.