LETTER FROM THE AREA DEAN’S OFFICE

Dear Friends,

At Christmas time, our thoughts inevitably go to Bethlehem, and we may try to imagine the scene as it was when Christ was born. What was it really like? Was it a stable or a cave? Who really knew that a very special baby was being born into the world?

I have been fortunate enough to have been in Bethlehem on a number of occasions, including once to see the celebrations hosted by the Orthodox Church in Manger Square. There was great pomp and ceremony, including marching bands, and half the town turned out to welcome hundreds of visitors and worshippers.

I was also there in February and October last year, and things have significantly changed. I doubt that there will be such joyful celebrations as there used to be. For a start, militant Palestinians have forced many of the Christian Arabs to leave the area. And then there is ‘The Wall’. This has been built over the last couple of years to stop the large number of suicide bombers that were attacking the Jewish communities round about. In that respect it has been very successful, and the number of such terrorist attacks has been dramatically reduced. But the down side is that the wall has divided some families, and also prevented people getting to their place of employment. The result is greater poverty and greater discontent - a vicious circle of economic decline.

Now I’m not going to take a stance on the rights and wrongs of The Wall - it’s a very complex political situation. It has come about as a consequence of many on-going tensions, actions and reactions between religious and ethnic groups that have literally been going on for thousands of years. But I can’t help noticing that many negative human actions (such as anger, prejudice, selfishness and a lack of forgiveness) all contribute to building dividing walls. And there are many invisible dividing walls between families, communities and nations - all causing yet more hardships and unhappiness. These consequences range from dysfunctional families on a local level, to massive poverty and hunger on the global level.

As if that is not enough, the biggest invisible dividing wall of all is the one that has been built between mankind and God. The accumulated consequence of our self-centred behaviour is that we have collectively lost both our understanding of God, and even our will to walk his ways in the world.

And that is why Jesus came, interestingly enough to the little town of Bethlehem that has now become the focus point of the modern-day dividing wall It says in the Bible, in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, that Jesus “is our peace...he has broken down the dividing wall of hostility”. If we want peace, real peace, peace with others and peace with God, then Jesus is the one who is able to break down dividing walls and bring that peace.

I’m aware of so many people that are searching for inner peace. The stress of daily life, the tensions of strained relationships, and many other issues like guilt, anger and fear, have given them anything by peace. And to them, God seems indifferent, far away, or even to have made the situation worse.

The true message of Christmas, echoed in the song of the angels in the nativity story, is one of ‘Peach on Earth, good will to all’
That’s not just a sentimental greetings-card peace, or an alcohol induced euphoria.,
It’s the peace of knowing for sure that we are loved by God, that we are welcomed into his family from whatever state we are in at the present, and that in following Jesus we will be able to build more peaceful lives.

So this Christmas I wish you all peace. Real Peace, Godly peace. A peace that is found only in Jesus, who came to break down the walls.

Rev’d. Stephen Hardy - Area Dean of Romney Deanery

Martin and Maddy’s new address will be:

The Rectory, 2 Carrfields Lane,
Frisby-on-the-Wreake, Leics. LE14 2NT.