Even our politicians are keen that we celebrate it in some way as it will stimulate trade after the doldrums experienced during Covid.
It is a little awkward that Christmas has ‘Christ’ in its name. The terms ‘Before the Common Era’ and ‘The Common Era’ have a similar problem. It is the birth of Christ which gives them meaning, but His is the name that must not be mentioned in academia lest offence be taken.
But surely we must ask: “Who is Christ?” Only a fool would say He never existed, the figment of some wildly imaginative committee.
The four Gospels give us a coherent picture of One who is clearly unique: born of a virgin, sinless, authoritative yet humble, King of Kings yet a servant, a healer who yet died on a cross, priest and sacrifice at once, and the only One in all history to defeat death forever.
His qualities correspond to our needs. We sin, and so we need a Saviour; we are prone to be delusional, and He imparts wisdom; we all die, but He has risen from the dead, never to die again. That is more than a stimulus to the economy or an opportunity to party. That is life in all of its fullness.
Rev Peter Barnes,
Presbyterian Church, Revesby
