By Bishop Olivia
What a year we’ve had! We had all breathed a sigh of relief as we emerged from the pandemic, and then sucked our breath in again as we faced political chaos, interest rate hikes, huge cost of living increases.
We’ve had war in Europe, and disappointing international climate talks. We’ve had weather which has swung from scorchingly hot to way below freezing – neither of which is normal.
An increasingly chaotic asylum process and deaths in the Channel.
The job market is very odd. Many unfilled vacancies.
Nearly 9 million people neither working nor seeking work.
An epidemic of mental health conditions, especially anxiety and depression. Nurses, train drivers and rail operators, posties on strike.
And many of these things are interrelated.
It doesn’t look good.
So why am I not feeling anxious and despondent? It’s because everywhere I look I see good people doing good things.
Kindness and hospitality towards strangers, food for those who are hungry, warm spaces for those who are cold and lonely, care and concern for those who are distressed, financial support, friendship, generous hearts.
Everywhere I look, I see Love. Churches, charities, individuals, businesses reaching out and offering a hand.
Love came to us at Christmas as a tiny, vulnerable scrap of a baby in an occupied land, under political and economic pressure, and faced opposition and eventually execution. It didn’t look good.
But Love cannot be quenched like a candle flame. Love is the foundation of our existence and the end towards which we travel.
It is Light fantastic, beating back the darkness.
The baby was Christ, the Prince of Peace. May the God who is Love bless and keep you and those you love this Christmas.
The Rt Revd Olivia Graham is the Bishop of Reading
