The importance of family has, of course, come home to Prince Philip and me personally this year with the marriages of two of our grandchildren, each in their own way a celebration of the God-given love that binds a family together.
For many, this Christmas will not be easy. With our armed forces deployed around the world, thousands of service families face Christmas without their loved ones at home.
The bereaved and the lonely will find it especially hard. And, as we all know, the world is going through difficult times. All this will affect our celebration of this great Christian festival.
Finding hope in adversity is one of the themes of Christmas. Jesus was born into a world full of fear. The angels came to frightened shepherds with hope in their voices: ‘Fear not’, they urged, ‘we bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
‘For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Saviour who is Christ the Lord.’
Although we are capable of great acts of kindness, history teaches us that we sometimes need saving from ourselves – from our recklessness or our greed.
God sent into the world a unique person – neither a philosopher nor a general, important though they are, but a Saviour, with the power to forgive….
Read it carefully and read it all; I highly recommend watching the video presentation.
Perhaps I am wrong, but this address seems to me to buck the trend in previous years. The Commonwealth embraces people of many different faiths and none. Previous Christmas broadcasts, as I remember them, were bland to the point of near-invisibility when it came to the specifics of Christian faith, driven, I suppose, by fear of seeming too Christian. This one by contrast is unabashedly set in a faith context. Interesting. Perhaps we are finally moving away from the culture of cringe.
One comes away at the end of this fine message with a clear sense of Jesus Christ and his saving work. One could almost hope that the future of the Anglican Communion might reside with decisions this Queen would determine to make about the next Archbishop of Canterbury, voiding the processes in place and insisting we are in a crisis, and so “X†is now going to take the helm. Sadly the problems seem so large and so deeply entrenched it is difficult to hold out hope. One can firmly believe and know that God is finally all about victory on his terms and so rest in that. What form such a victory might take for anglican Christianity worldwide—should God want that—we cannot know. But it is reassuring that the Head of the Church of England is not creating a new form of Christian faith but articulating the basic message of the Gospel.
This Christian lady cares……perhaps more than we can ever know. God bless her!
#1 — I think that was a common adjustment, due to the terror plots, the strained relationships and suspicions. And it seems to me (although I’m an outsider looking in) that the riots were the last straw. With all of the enforced “tolerance” and PC-ness, there was still (often false) claims of being discriminated against and misunderstood. David Cameron has certainly stood up and spoke about the need for a return to values and such.
I’ll bet Her Majesty is much happier with Cameron leading her government than Blair or Brown.
Is this the David Cameron who is also full steam ahead on the new sexuality understandings of modern culture, and who believes Government should accommodate them?
In many ways, David Cameron is Tory in name only.
As for HRM speech, I thought it was wonderful, but then I’ve always been a fan of Queen Elizabeth II who has borne so much with grace and who cut her teeth as a mechanic helping the War Effort in WWII.
The Queen makes an excellent spokesperson for the Christian Faith. That was certainly a heartfelt address. God bless her!
An excellent speech. And the last part about why Christ came – many clergy and prelates could learn from it. The message of the gospel encapsulated in a few words.
Praise be to God!