| I'm delighted to join with other
leaders in the community and from the churches in sending you my
warmest greetings this Christmas.
We often say "Sure Christmas is just a time for the
children". And of course, many, but by no means all,
children do have a ball as they lose themselves in a world of
twinkling lights, colour and tinsel, gift-wrap, surprises and
treats.
The sad reality is that so many of us who are adults see only
the child of Christmas. We see a baby in a manger - a warm,
straw-scented crib-like scene where everything is in its place.
But Christmas is more challenging than that. The child in the
manger grew to be the adult Jesus who turned so many accepted
and respected things on their head. His family were refugees. He
went through the daily slog in the family workshop. He lived in
an occupied country. He came face to face with human suffering
among friends and strangers. He knew hunger and homelessness,
prison torture and death.
In every sense we've got to face up to the challenges of this
adult Christ of Christmas. There are many human situations that
demand our neighbourly response, the volunteering of our time,
as well as our prayers, generosity, encouragement and support.
In Cork, with our strong sense of local community we are well
placed not only to do this for one another this Christmas but
also, as we've always done, to set our minds generously on needs
further afield too.
May the joy of the Christ-Child be yours this Christmas and
may you know Christ alongside you throughout your journey in
2001. |
