Old Catholic Diocese of the Uniformed Services Missionary Diocese of the Midwest CHRISTMAS MESSAGE 2014 By the grace of God, and as Bishop of this Diocese to all the Reverend Clergy and faithful: Dearest brothers and sisters, and beloved children of the Lord: All of Christendom is preparing this year, once again, to celebrate Christmas, within a world that is troubled, frantic and contradictory. Yet, recall that our Lord came to us in the most humble of circumstances. The very fact that he was born in a stable should impress upon us the incredible love that he had for each of us that he would come into this world under such conditions. Conditions not of wealth, not of earthly power, but as a helpless infant born in a manger. How quickly we forget this example, especially in view of the phenomena of international violence, together with crime of every kind and materialistic hysteria, all applying asphyxiating pressure upon the chests of every honourable person. We have ignored our Lord as we allow these phenomena to turn our society into a spiritual desert, our families into fragmented unloved remnants, and the utter desecration of the inner world of the human soul. However, it would be the greatest hypocrisy to believe that we can judge this world as if we were somehow outside it. We are a vital part of this contradictory world and we share in its responsibilities absolutely. And as we share in both its contradictory and hypocritical nature, we must also share in its redemption by cleaving to the Faith handed down to us from the beginning of days and passed on from generation to generation. If, after the passage of so many centuries, the Incarnation of God has not made our world more loving, this is not due to the non-Christians, but mainly to the followers of Christ. The most bitter betrayal always comes from within, from among one’s own people. How are we then to chant the angelic Christmas hymns with “unblemished lips”? In order to sing “Glory to God in the highest” and to experience, even to the slightest degree, “peace on earth,” we must respect the human person as the image of the invisible God. This is regardless of race, gender, colour, religion, orientation, or age. God became human for all humankind, not simply a select few. It is my fervent hope that during this Christmas each of us will rekindle in our hearts the fire of God’s love, being reminded of the incredible gift our Lord gave us by his death on the Cross for our eternal redemption. And as we live out our days here on earth, let those be days of respect and honor paid to our invisible God and his only begotten son, Jesus Christ, as we treat each other with the same loving kindness that God has for us regardless of the divisions between us. + Raymond L. Niblock Bishop Ordinary of the Diocese of the Uniformed Services and Missionary Diocese of the Midwest Old Catholic Church of the Americas
Posted on: Wed, 24 Dec 2014 01:09:26 +0000
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