Christmas Greetings from The Archbishop of New Zealand

The Archbishops from the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia

Christmas is often a time when we have many expectations – of whanau being together again, lots of food, especially kai moana, carol services and a chance to rest and unwind. The reality is often different. For all too many households, Christmas can be a time of short tempers, road rage, family strife, hardship, stress, overspending and growing debt, drunkenness or violence.

In contrast to these things, the Christmas message is about deep peace: The peace of Christ in the midst of all the busyness. The peace that comes after sorting out resentments and family feuds. The peace of realizing that not everything has to be perfect.

Christmas is also meant to be about joy: The joy of the gift of the Christ child, of having time to be with those you love. The joy of appreciating all the blessings you have and not concentrating on the things you don’t have.

Most of all, Christmas is about love. For God so loved the world that He caused Jesus to be conceived in love by the Holy Spirit through the Virgin Mary. Jesus came amongst us in the love of Mary, and of Joseph, in the love of every heart that believes. God is love, and seeds within us the same love.

That’s a love that encourages us to reach out to a struggling neighbour who needs a hand, a love that doesn’t walk past the sick or lonely or unlovely but stops for a word - or better yet, invites them in. A love that recognizes that the people we share Christmas with might not be perfect, but they are still an important part of our life. A love that doesn’t hurt with words or actions, when someone doesn’t do what we want or in the way we want it. A love which is also recommitted to address the harsh realities of the Holy Family in our midst - who include the homeless, the refugees and the excluded.

Love is the true heart of Christmas because Christmas is all about God’s gift of love to us. For God so loved each one of us, that He gave the gift of that little baby born in Bethlehem, and placed Him into the realities of our world, that we might experience a relationship with Him first hand.

May the God of love, joy and peace be with you and those you love this Christmas.

The Most Rev Brown Turei, Primate/ Co-Presiding Bishop

The Most Rev Jabez Bryce, Archbishop/ Co-Presiding Bishop

The Most Rev David Moxon, Archbishop/ Co-Presiding Bishop

By Anglican Communion News Service

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