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News and Ideas from around the Anglican World |
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January 2008
The Birthday of Life.
By William Anderson
This year, as Anglicans around the world prepare to celebrate Christmas, there is perhaps a greater fear for the future of our beloved Communion than has been known for almost five hundred years. Our Communion is in turmoil with provinces, dioceses and parishes divided over issues involving orthodoxy of belief and practice. So it may be easy to miss the significance of the Feast of the Nativity--to despair that we are lost and that the tangible elements of our faith are being taken from us. After all, many this year live in fear of losing their church properties as, throughout North America, legal actions begin against parishes which have chosen to hold firm to the faith that has come down to us since that night so many centuries ago. Many of our deacons, priests and bishops live in fear of being deposed for refusing to betray the Infant born in Bethlehem. The mistake we can so easily fall into is in confusing the gift of the Nativity with buildings and properties and with the romance of our memories. We can easily forget that in some parts of this world, we have brothers and sisters who risk their very lives by confessing the faith of the Christ Child. Living at this moment in time, we should look back and remember the consequences of the Nativity. We know that this birth was surrounded by tragedy and suffering. Herod ordered the massacre of children in a vain attempt to protect his power, and so parents and children suffered. All the dreams and hopes that were born with the Christ Child ultimately lead to the Cross, where evil sought to extinguish the light of God in this world. From the martyrdom of saints to the lives of those who have devoted their lives to sharing the Gospel of Christ, evil has sought to enshroud the Christian faith in darkness and despair. So it should not be a surprise to us that evil continues in our day and age to try to suppress and corrupt the gift God has offered us. Yet in spite of this, to paraphrase St. Leo the Great, sadness and despair have no place on this birthday of life. Our Saviour is born today, and the fear of death has been overshadowed by the promise of eternal happiness in the presence of Our Father. On this day, the angels themselves echo the hymns of heaven: “Glory to God in the highest, and peace to His people on earth.” This is no song of fear and hopelessness--it is an act of confidence in, and submission to, the will of God. Through our Baptism, we share in the Body of Christ whose birth we celebrate. We know how He suffered for us. Through baptism we also share in the lives of our brothers and sisters through the centuries who have suffered and risked all in re-telling the Christmas message of hope and redemption. The darkness of persecution and threat of death have not overcome the light of Christ that has shone through them down through the ages. And it should not diminish our lights as we hold fast to the gift of faith that has been entrusted to us, not only for ourselves, but for our children, and their children in turn. And so my friends, in this Christmas season, let us remember our calling as Christians. Let us remember who is our Head, and of whose Body we are members. Let us not forget that we have been rescued from the power of darkness and brought into the light of God’s Kingdom. Let our whole lives be a hymn of praise to God our Father and a means by which His peace becomes a reality on earth
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