CAPTION: Bishop Mike enjoys baking and has been making festive sausage rolls to share
Bishop Mike’s Christmas Message
I love Christmas, and one of the things I most love is getting ready for it, the sense of anticipation and expectation. Whether that’s decorating trees, buying presents or cooking as a way of preparing hospitality for friends, family and other guests.
Personally, I love baking, and this year I have a great new sausage-roll-with-all-the-trimmings recipe that I am trying out! That spirit of generosity to others seems to me to be at the heart of Christmas and Christian faith.
The former Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, recently suggested that the Church was not doing enough to provide for people’s spiritual hunger and so people were literally turning to food in order to fill a spiritual gap. In fact, our network of parish churches across Devon are doing amazing work, serving their communities in both spiritual and practical ways.
But I also don’t see such a big divide between the spiritual and the physical. I think that meeting material needs, like serving special Christmas food or inviting others into our homes or churches, is one of the ways in which we show our spiritual values of love and generosity towards others.
The stuff of Christmas, whether it is serving-up mulled-wine and mince pies at a carol service, or inviting our widowed neighbour round for Christmas lunch, is a really important means by which we express our Christian spirituality.
It is demonstrated by the Christmas story. In the Nativity we have a God who comes to us in the physical form of a baby, wanting to establish a living relationship with each of us.
One version of the bible describes the birth of Jesus by saying ‘God moved into the neighbourhood.’ Christ was literally born among us, to show us how we are loved and how he shines for us in the midst of any darkness that we may be experiencing – not remotely from afar, but close-up and embedded in our lives – like the candle burning in the Christingle orange.
So, my prayer for you this year is that you may experience our generous God for yourself and know what it is to give and receive the generosity of Christmas. I can’t promise home-made sausage rolls, but you can find a church service near you here! achurchnearyou.com/
