My English teacher at school seemed to have eyes in the back of her head. She always saw what I was up to.Every New Year’s Day I acquire the same skill.I look backwards as well as forwards. I remember what has gone, as well as looking forward to what will be.This year, more than most, I look back with sadness at the hurts and challenges of 2020, but with great hope that 2021 might be different. And I do it with the God who, in Christ, gives light to those who dwell in darkness, even those in the shadow of death. God’s eyes and heart behold the hopes and fears of yesterday, today and tomorrow.Christ is always the light in the darkness. In him we make sense of our place in the journey of the passing years. He holds out to us a lantern, lighting our path through whatever lies ahead.
by Archbishop Justin Welby A light amidst the difficulties of this year has been the way people have cared for each other with generosity and courage. Cynicism about community has often been overwhelmed by love for neighbour.It has been stressful and anxious, but we have not shut ourselves off from each other. There have been countless wonderful acts of kindness and care, often sacrificial ones.We’ve seen these acts of goodness in health and in care, we’ve seen them in the community and in our neighbourhoods. Most often they have come not from power or position but from love and vulnerability.That’s exactly the sort of love that we celebrate at Christmas. Love that gets its hands dirty. Love that is open and generous. Love that, without great ceremony, makes a difference.May we find that love, God’s love in Jesus Christ, this Christmas. May we share that love, God’s love in us, this Christmas. And as we receive, and as we give, may we know the comfort and the joy that is God’s gift to us. Justin Welby is The Archbishop of Canterbury.
by David WhitelyThe birth of Jesus was heralded. Angels declared it. People brought gifts to honour it. A star signified it, and yet at the same time, there was no place at the inn. At the same time, his birthplace was in a manger.We should never despise or be defined by our humble beginnings. Jesus’ birth was not celebrated because of what he was doing at the time of birth but what he would do.At that point, he was at the mercy of his parents’ upbringing, a child with no sway in the direction that the world went, but his destiny, his future was worth celebrating right then and there.You may not have gotten to where you want to be yet, achieved what you hoped to achieve. You may not have made any major strides towards your goals, but you can commemorate the beginning of the journey. You can celebrate the start of your ventures with the hope of your brighter tomorrow.Jesus was always looking ahead and moving according to what he knew he would do and who he knew he would become. Too often, we're crippled by our current circumstances or others' current perception of us. Well, our current condition only serves to make our future victories that much more sweet and that much more inspiring.You're in your genesis now, but the revelation of who you really are is still coming. The book of your life is still writing itself. Don't get stuck on your current chapter when your crescendo is awaiting you.Let that hope and that future expectation put a present smile on your face and a present peace in your heart.David Whitely is a radio and TV presenter.
