Bishops’ Christmas Message 2021
The Light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.
As we prepare to celebrate Christmas this year, I don’t think any of us could have envisaged the sort of regulatory environment and continuing pandemic response that we are all necessarily navigating. It is a long-haul journey for our globe.
Weary as we may be with the continuous adaptions and the prolonged separation from families spread across the world, and the collective grief and the tides of anger and distress at our reality, let us look to the God who is eternally patient and holds peacefully the identity of being the God of longsuffering (2 Peter 3:8-9). As the song of Zechariah proclaims:
In the tender compassion of our God
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace. (Luke 1:78-79)
Despite all the difficulties and grief that we have shared together this year, our testimony is one of God’s powerful partnership with us to see the kingdom flourish with a fruitfulness that is undeniable. This year, more than ever, we want to give glory to God for the fruits of the kingdom that continue to burst through our shared life together.
We want to bear witness to fresh church plants this year within our Diocese that are growing and multiplying. We want to bear witness to and honour the many young adult communities making sacrificial calls to missional discipleship, which continue to gain ground and grow.
We want to bear witness to the proliferation of adult learning, leadership and discipleship through the flexi-learn courses where the whole people of God are kicking goals for the kingdom. We bear witness to the courage and witness of our ordinands and the joy of the ordainathon. We want to bear witness to the growth in missional discipleship, prophetic maturity and the piloting of fresh missional communities.
We want to bear witness to the third of our parishes in our Diocese who are working to generate social housing projects on our parish land. We bear witness to the power of working together to impact climate change policy, the success of the Big Hearts Campaign from Advent last year finding fruitfulness in recent budget announcements, the continued impact of advocacy around human trafficking and refugee support and the mobilisation of over $150,000 for vaccine equality through our Get One Give One campaign with Anglican Missions.
We proclaim that all of these things to which we bear witness are footfalls of humanity and divinity in partnership together paving the way of peace – God’s shalom.
Yes, the light continues to shine in our darkness and together we declare wholeheartedly that the darkness has not overcome it. Praise be to God!
+Justin and +Ellie
