Bishop Ruth reflected on the most powerful love of all, but also the fear and anxiety many people are currently feeling.
She said: "The birth of a baby two thousand years ago was for all time. Jesus came not as a quick fix to the world’s problems but rather as One who wanted to live amongst those He created, as one of us. A God who chooses the weakness and vulnerability of human form, rather than retaining his godly status. In order to be close to the ones He loved… us, those shepherds, you and me.
That is some love. To choose the uncertainty of human existence over and above the power of the creative force. To long to be close to those you love and care for. Many of us have some understanding of such love. Of love that causes us to want to be near to the one we love. Some of us have been denied that closeness during this pandemic, unable to be present with family members whilst they have suffered illness or lay dying. It has caused much pain and strengthened our longing to reclaim the values of love, friendship and family.
Last Christmas my husband went down with Covid and so we had to isolate. Many of you found the restrictions over last Christmas meant that travel to visit family was impossible. This year, many of us will be excited to have loved ones around us once more. But let us remember too, those for whom Christmas is a lonely time, the bereaved, the excluded, the lost, those who have left homes far behind. It is to them as well as to us, that Jesus comes, into the stable of our lives, into the cradle of our love. And as we remember that giving of himself for love of us, let us ask ourselves how we might do the same."