22.12.2016
Christmas Message from Rt Rev John McDowell, President ofthe Irish Council of Churches
In those years around the birth of Jesus, the emperor, whose name was Octavian, gave himself the title of a god, Augustus. He had come to power in violence and he used violence to maintain power. Sometimes it was the violence of the Roman Army, more often it was the violence of one of his client–kings such as Herod the Great who was so alarmed by the possibilities of another sort of kingship taking hold in Palestine that, as the Carol says, ‘He slew the little childer…’
As 2016 draws to a close, against the backdrop of increasing fragmentation and hostility in international relations, we pray for all those families in Aleppo, Mosul, Cairo and elsewhere who also flee persecution and violence. Guided by our commitment to respect for the dignity of the human person, the Churches must commit to be strong advocates for the protection of all vulnerable minorities in 2017.
The light and love of the child born in that stable in Bethlehem continues in all of those in whom He continues to be born by water and the Spirit. As the hand of the child Jesus closed around Mary’s finger, with irresistible tenderness he pulled down her love upon him. May the tenderness of that love surround you and all families this Christmas.