Bishop Paul’s Christmas Sermon from Southwell Minster
‘Jesus was born not to make sure we know how badly we’ve messed things up, but so that we can discover how greatly we are loved by God.‘
In his Christmas sermon at the Midnight Communion in the Cathedral on Christmas Eve, Bishop Paul spoke about how at Christmas, God comes to find us in Jesus, offering a peace that can satisfy our very deepest need and longings, and inviting our hearts to come home to Him.
He reflected on the success of our Christmas short film, which was based on the story of the Prodigal Son. This story captures the heart of the Christmas story, as God sends his own Son into the mess and muddle of our lives and world to bring us back to himself, ‘so that our heart can find their true home with him’.
In his sermon, Bishop Paul shared one of the comments left on the short film which summarises this beautifully, ‘God always finds a way to reach us, even when we feel unreachable’. Concluding his sermon, Bishop Paul shared a reminder of the joy of Christmas, “that through Jesus, we can have a forever home with God in which we are known and loved and secure, through life and death and all eternity.” Amen.
Read Bishop Paul’s Christmas Sermon in full below.
Readings: Isaiah 9:2-7 and Luke 2:1-14
Whether you are at home or far away from home this Christmas, I want to reflect for a few moments on how our heart can find its true home in the love God has for us in Jesus Christ: How the peace the angels sang about two thousand years ago really can be yours and mine, in a personal and profound way, that’s not dependent on our circumstances or what kind of year we’ve had.
There are few scenes more powerful or moving than seeing two people reunited after a painful separation – whether that’s due to geographical distance or complex relational issues, the moment of re-connection is always deeply touching.
I think that’s why over the past three weeks, 1.9m people have viewed the short Christmas film we produced this year as a diocese – which rapidly went viral. If you haven’t seen it then you might like to check it out on our social media. You will find it instantly if you type ‘best ever Christmas advert’ into the search engine on Instagram.
I think even John Lewis might be coming to our team next year to get some advice.
In under three minutes, with very few words, it powerfully depicts the separation over time between a mother and her teenage daughter. It could have been any precious relationship. The climax to the film is when the daughter comes home at Christmas and the mother runs towards her longing to hold her and be held by her. It’s a simple retelling of the story of the prodigal son, one of the most famous parables of Jesus, recorded in Luke’s Gospel. It opens a window into the heart of God.
The events of the first Christmas, celebrated in familiar carols and readings tonight, is all about God’s decisive initiative: reconciling frail and fallen humanity to himself. And the good news is he doesn’t wait for us to sort ourselves out or find our way back to him. God comes to find us and brings us home.
And as the Christmas story explains, the obstacles in the way appeared insurmountable. The God who created all things is awesome and holy and perfect in his love. By contrast the history of the human race up to this very moment is about stubborn resistance to God’s will and rejection of his way for us. We see the terrible consequences of this in the war-torn places of our world tonight and we see it in the broken parts of our lives too.
Yet Jesus was born not to make sure we know how badly we’ve messed things up, but so that we can discover how greatly we are loved by God. John in his Gospel writes, “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son…”
Jesus came on a divine rescue mission to reconnect us to the heart of God in a way that is both personal and powerful. This is why Christmas is such good news for our world. The angel announced to the shepherds: “Do not be afraid – for I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord.”
But it didn’t stop there with wonder on the hillside. That would surely be a story-enough-to-tell. The shepherds also went to Bethlehem and found the child lying in the manger. Then they went away rejoicing. Because they didn’t just hear about a Saviour they met the Saviour of the world. And that is the invitation that the Christmas gospel holds out to every person today.
Here is the point of Christmas. That this child, the very Son of God, would come into the mess and muddle of our lives and world to bring us back to God, so that our hearts can find their true home with him.
Of the more than a thousand comments in response to our film, the one that moved me the most said simply, ‘God always finds a way to reach us, even when we feel unreachable’. Through Jesus, God not only reaches us, he also carries us. He’s ready to carry us through every storm we face and every heartbreak we endure, and the despair that can so quickly overwhelm us.
Here is how we receive the peace the angels sing of. And it cannot be circumstantial because there is no life-script that we or anyone else can write for us that will protect us from pain. That’s why Jesus became flesh and entered into the struggle of our lives and the pain of our world. And through the Cross he not only suffered for us he also conquered the power of sin and death once and for all, offering the possibility of peace that can satisfy our very deepest need and longings.
So let us not stay on the hillside, as it were, but resolve this Christmas to make the same journey as the shepherds to meet and know the real Jesus.
This is what countless people have done down through the ages and are still doing today all across the world.
If it’s something you would like to explore further for yourself then there may be a church near you that can help. But once again this coming spring, I am pleased to be hosting in our home, just next to the Minster here, five evenings to take a closer look at Jesus. It’s called Exploring Faith, and open to anyone who would like to think about some of the big themes of the Christmas story, like God’s peace, hope and joy.
If you’d like to find out more just ask me for one of these invitation cards on the way home tonight or get in touch with the Minster office. And if you don’t live anywhere near by, then we’d be pleased to put you in touch with a similar course somewhere closer to you.
In a short while we will cross the threshold into Christmas morning. And here is the joy it holds for us: that through Jesus, we can have a forever home with God in which we are known and loved and secure, through life and death and all eternity.
No wonder we are meant to join tonight with the song of the angels: ‘Glory to the new born king!’
Use this link to watch the live stream of this service, including Bishop Paul’s talk.