22 December 2008
Christmas Message from the Methodist President
In his Christmas Message, the Revd Stephen Poxon, President of
the Methodist Conference, calls for Christmas to be a time of
hospitality towards strangers. Stephen highlights the work of local
churches amongst asylum seekers and refugees and asks us to
consider how welcome we make others feel.
Stephen says; 'This must be at the heart of who we are as church
communities. We must become people who continually offer that
hospitable space, within ourselves as well as our buildings, for
God's love and grace that others may come among us and encounter
Immanuel.'
The full text follows:
A night of hospitality
Christmas is the season of parties, family meals and special
occasions with friends but it can be exhausting if you are the host
all the time. As we listen to the Christmas story once again this
year we hear that it was a night of hospitality - but who is the
host?
The supernumeraries and their spouses and widows of the North
Lancashire District are invited for a Christmas lunch each year.
They are so grateful and often say things like ' it's so good of
you to host us' but in honesty all we do is provide the space, the
food and drink and then it just happens! That may be how the
innkeeper rationalised offering the stable area with a manger to
the holy family. As the host we'll never know if it was out of warm
generosity or just a business transaction that resulted in them
being pushed out of the way.
In Britain 100,000's of people come among us year by year from
around the world. Many are migrant workers from eastern Europe,
bringing their culture, faith and skills whilst others are people
fleeing from persecution, war, seeking a better life for their
children as asylum seekers and refugees. Time and again we hear
that people want to come among us because of our hospitality; of
our tolerance; our openness. How welcome do we make others
feel?
Many churches are doing remarkable work among asylum seekers and
refugees, with the homeless and others who feel on the edge of
society. Yet there can often be a fear within us about those who
are different and perhaps we might be tempted to want to push them
out of the way, into the stable. As we see the landscape of our
communities changing with the rich variety of people from across
the world we must continue to discover ways to embrace and make
everyone welcome, for each is a child of God, created in his own
image. For when we meet any one we are meeting the Christ.
There was another hospitality that holy night. In a young
frightened girl there is the hospitality of Mary whose willingness
to receive the gift of God brings to birth the salvation of the
world. We cannot begin to understand the fear, the shame, the
bewilderment tinged with anticipation and even hope. Yet out of her
'yes' God became human and lived among us in Jesus…….and since then
there have been countless people who have said 'yes' to God…to
welcome Christ into their lives…so he may find a resting place, a
birthing place to continue God's living presence within the
world.
This must be at the heart of who we are as church communities. We
must become people who continually offer that hospitable space,
within ourselves as well as our buildings, for God's love and grace
that others may come among us and encounter Immanuel. We need to
welcome all but especially discover ways to welcome the young, many
who like Mary are frightened and trying to make sense out of what
is happening to them and the world they inhabit.
Yet there is a further host on that holy night. Here is God hosting
his own party, the birth of His son, His own coming among us. God,
Immanuel, becoming human and living among us in Jesus.
In some of the carol services this year we will find everyone
singing the soprano line with no descant and little harmony. We
live in a world where there is little harmony with people at war,
where people in Britain struggle with the beginnings of recession,
where in the wider world there is an increasing poverty gap, people
suffering from cholera, AIDS, hunger and countless injustices. As
we hear again the song of the angels we catch a glimpse of creation
in harmony with the Creator…as a child is born….God come among
us.
God the eternal host is giving us a glimpse of eternity, of His
Kingdom, where all are one and at peace and in harmony seen in the
poverty of shepherds and the riches of magi; in the powerlessness
of the secular authority of Herod and in the glory of the
vulnerability of the weak and frightened. And in this moment, this
holy, eternal moment we hear the eternal host welcome us…
'To all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power
to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the
will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.'
Stephen's message is also available online as an audio file. Click
here.