c. 2004 Religion News Service

(UNDATED) Following are excerpts from the annual Christmas messages from various Christian leaders. Some statements have been edited for length.

Archbishop Demetrios

Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America

I greet you on the joyous occasion of the Feast of the Nativity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, an event of cosmic proportions that marked the very entry of salvation into our world. The significance of this event rests in the awesome truth that our God, in his perfect love for us, chose to enter our world not as an adult clothed with earthly authority, but as “a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.” It is truly incredible to contemplate such a tender and humble image in view of the incomprehensible might and majesty of God.

This act of divine condescension suggests the bestowal of a tremendous dignity upon humankind. This dignity reveals itself most directly in the awesome duty of care that God placed upon the most Holy Theotokos and Virgin Mary and upon Joseph in caring for his only-begotten Son, the newborn Messiah. We must remember that Jesus, in his human infancy, was dependent upon Mary and Joseph for the basic necessities of food, shelter and clothing. Here, we behold but a glimpse of the limitless nature of God’s love for humanity. By becoming a human being from the moment of infancy, God revealed his desire to partake in the entirety of the human experience, beginning with a humble birth and proceeding even unto death on a cross, so that we in turn might enjoy an everlasting life with him.

In an age where many looked toward emperors and kings for their security, God deigned to herald the salvation of humanity with the birth, under humbling conditions, of an infant. This was no accident; rather, it was an act with a declaratory significance. Beyond the importance of these humbling conditions, the appearance of God in the world as a babe, as a child, strongly affirmed the centrality of the child in God’s plan for the salvation of the human race.

As we gather in fellowship with one another this holiday season, let us particularly reflect upon the fact of the Incarnate God lying in a manger as a babe, thus establishing forever the paramount importance of children as precious members of our families.

I offer to you my fervent wishes that the joy of this Christmas season fills your hearts, your homes, your families and your parishes and that the very same joy may accompany you throughout the dawning new year. The Prince of Peace has come as a child; and he has promised to be with us all the days, to the end of time, even to the end of the world.

James Dobson, Focus on the Family Chairman and

Shirley Dobson, National Day of Prayer Task Force Chairman

Everything we care about is embodied in this Christmas season _ love of children and family _ neighborly care for others, and especially the precious story of the Christ-child and his coming to provide a remedy for our sins and a promise of eternal life: It is all represented in this wonderful time of celebration and joy.

The Most Rev. Frank T. Griswold III

Presiding Bishop, Episcopal Church

Though we are now exchanging our “Merry Christmas” greetings, and carols fill the air telling us “’tis the season to be jolly,” Christmas provides something far greater than merriment, joviality or an easy joy. Christmas points the way to something sober and enduring.

To celebrate Christmas is not simply to recall a past event in a stable which we see sweetly depicted on Christmas cards. To celebrate Christmas is to open ourselves to what is happening within us: In virtue of our baptism, Jesus continues to be born and grow to maturity in us. Our participation in the Incarnation, therefore, is a profound and all-demanding fact of life to be patiently and courageously lived by each one of us in the varying, and sometimes difficult, circumstances of our lives.

This should not surprise us. After all, the birth itself did not take place under easy circumstances, but in an uncertain season. The first Christmas was not at all what Mary might have hoped for. She found herself far from home, bereft of the human supports that would have been hers in Nazareth. And yet she heard the angels’ song pierce the night. In the midst of it all something broke loose that transformed the moment into an occasion for sober and enduring joy. With Jesus’ birth the boundless love and all-embracing compassion of God became real, immediate and concrete as a human life.

Love is, therefore, the heart of the Incarnation. Through God’s insistent and enduring love the word became flesh and dwelt among us. Love alone gave Jesus the ability to hope all things and to endure all things, even the pain of the cross. And, through the love of God poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, the Incarnation continues to unfold in and through our lives. In us the word who is Jesus becomes flesh and blood. This is the root and ground of our joy. This is the sober and enduring truth of Christmas.

As we once again celebrate our Savior’s birth, may we be bearers of this Christmas truth and embodied signs of God’s love to our anxious and divided world. And let us give thanks that Christ, the sun of righteousness, continues to pierce the darkness and bring healing in his wings.

The Rev. Mark S. Hanson

Presiding Bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

The shepherds were amazed by God’s messengers _ and then became them! Not that anyone in Bethlehem would have confused that dusty crew with the glorious angelic host, but the shepherds carried the angels’ message as they left the manger: the wondrous news of the birth of the Messiah and the astonishing announcement of peace on Earth. Throughout their world, the seemingly insignificant shepherds declared the same glorious words as the angel Gabriel. Yes, they were still in the world with all its suffering and ambiguity, all its division and injustice. Yes, they were still liable to every human weakness and fault. But now they had a clear part to play in God’s story. They had something spectacular to tell. Their voices joined a larger _ and heavenly _ chorus.

Best of all, this news is a very present wonder. The promised child is born to us this day. God comes down _ in the word made flesh _ bringing life to all. To hear this news is to risk being changed. The faith to believe it and the courage to retell it means profound conversion.

As we gather this Christmas in our congregations, families and communities to hear the wondrous story, we also can be amazed by God’s messengers _ and then become them. Yes, we are still in the world with all its suffering and ambiguity, all its division and injustice. Yes, we are still liable to every human weakness and fault. But we, too, have a clear part to play in God’s story. We have something spectacular to tell. Our voices join a larger _ and heavenly _ chorus.

Receiving God’s love in the word made flesh, how can we keep from singing? How can we keep from going into every corner of our lives and world to proclaim the good news? The word does its amazing work not only in us but surely through us. Yes, even us!

The Rev. Gerald B. Kieschnick

President, Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod

As the prophet Jeremiah said, we cry out for peace! Peace! But there is no peace.

And yet there is. On the first Christmas, Jesus, the son of God, stepped out of heaven and into our war-torn world and achieved for us what we could not: peace with God _ and a way to have peace with our neighbor. Such peace begins with a word of forgiveness, which is an act of love.

This Christmas, try a little forgiveness yourself. Show a little love to those around you. And enjoy the peace that God made possible for all of us, in Jesus, on that first Christmas.

The Rev. Samuel Kobia

General Secretary, World Council of Churches

The good news of Christmas shines forth upon the world like the summer sun in the Southern Hemisphere, like a sparkling star in the wintry northern sky. It shines brightly as “good news of great joy” in a world that surrounds us with disturbing news. It renews our faith in the promise of peace on Earth, and calls us once again to praise God whose glory extends to the highest heavens. For centuries, the hope of peace inherent in Christmas has been a central affirmation of the church’s faith. Each time that we celebrate the birth of Christ, we commit ourselves to live out this hope.

We celebrate the hope of Christmas as the promise of peace. We recall the birth of Jesus who came to us as a child threatened by violence, as a refugee whose family fled due to the ambitions of the powerful. In this season, in this world, we offer our thanks and praise to God for the hope we have in Jesus Christ, for the gift of God’s love revealed in human vulnerability.

The good news of Christ’s coming and dwelling among us is a source of illumination in this world, for through his life and teachings he has shown us the way that leads to peace. Jesus said, “My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives.” This world gives us walls dividing peoples, security strategies, repressive laws and pre-emptive wars.

Jesus calls us to discover responsible ways of living in unity as human beings. Jesus Christ has given us the great commandment to love and calls us to overcome the spirit of vengeance, hatred and rivalry; he teaches us to pray for our enemies. Jesus has instructed us not to pursue our own interests at the expense of others, not to be envious when the disempowered are re-empowered, not to obstruct justice when those who have been deprived are restored. He has called us to discern the face of God in the neglected and abandoned. He calls us daily to lives of obedience, through our faith and in our actions.

Amid this world’s divisions and destruction, the good news of Christmas reminds us that God reaches out in love and calls us to a ministry of reconciliation.

The Rev. Denton Lotz

General Secretary, Baptist World Alliance

The Messianic mission of Jesus included the proclamation of release to the captives and freedom for the oppressed. During this Advent season when we preach on the advent, the coming of our Lord in human form, we should never forget the world into which he came. It was a dark world of persecution and a reign of terror. One’s life was at the daily whim of evil dictators like Herod. It was a day of political refugees. Jesus’ family had to flee to Egypt for fear of persecution and death. This was the real world into which the Son of Man came. It is the real world today.

Never before have more Christians been persecuted for their faith than today. The world is filled with refugees. Think of the tragedy of Darfur, where hundreds are being killed in a new holocaust. Refugees in the Congo still fear for their lives. Religious conflicts in Nigeria, Indonesia and Sudan make Christians uncertain about their future. Countries such as Turkmenistan have closed churches, imprisoned pastors and made it almost impossible to assemble for worship.

The war in Iraq has exacerbated the conflict between minority Christians in the Middle East and the Islamic community. No matter what one thinks of the war, the fact is that Islamic nations see it as a Christian nation attacking Islam. This makes it even more difficult for our brothers and sisters who are a tiny minority. Pray for peace in Iraq!

This Christmas let us celebrate the coming of Christ with the biblical view of reality. Let us celebrate Christmas mindful of the world of suffering for which Christ came to redeem, to set free, to release captives. Beyond the romanticism of a Western Christmas, beyond the commercialization and materialism of a secular world that loves to hear Christmas carols but does not do the word of the Lord, let us celebrate Christmas by being faithful to the biblical record.

Let’s make this whole Christmas season a time to pray for our persecuted brothers and sisters worldwide. Rachel is still weeping for her children and she will not be comforted because they have been killed in war, in prison and in torture chambers. This is the Christmas story that needs to be preached. But let us preach it with joy, because now in Jesus Christ, all the Rachels of the world, all the suffering mothers and fathers can be comforted by the good news that Christ has entered our humanity to redeem us, set us free, bring release, freedom, salvation, and redemption!

Cardinal Theodore McCarrick

Roman Catholic Archbishop of Washington

As we begin the church’s new year at Advent time and prepare for the coming of the child who brought with Him the promise of life eternal, we need to reflect … on the value of human life that God himself has taught us. Thinking of you as we call out the Advent cry: “Come, Lord Jesus” and try to realize again what his presence means in our lives.

The Rev. William G. Sinkford

President, Unitarian Universalist Association

We are approaching the days of deep midwinter when our thoughts turn to family, comfort, and also to the new year and the uncertainties of the future. The winter holidays speak to our hunger for light at the time of year when it is easiest to imagine it might never return.

Hanukkah is celebrated not only when days are shortest and nights are longest, but when the nights are darkest, too, occurring late in the lunar cycle when the moon has all but disappeared. Jewish tradition does not celebrate the military victory, but the miracle of the lamp lit in the Temple that burned for eight days on a single bottle of oil: the lighting of candles against the darkness, the rekindling of hope and dedication in a dark time.

Christmas is similarly timed: We celebrate the birth of a baby who would later be called the Prince of Peace. I think of Mary in the story, given the overwhelming news that she will bear the son of God, remaining faithful throughout, forced to travel long past the point in her pregnancy when travel could have been comfortable, then laboring and giving birth in the middle of the night in a stable. In the deep dark of night, when things look bleakest: a baby, and a star proclaiming the birth of the spirit of life and love among us.

At those times when things seem darkest, there is nowhere to be but right where we are; no way around our pain and uncertainty, only through it. If that is what this season feels like to you, have faith. The days will get longer, the road ahead clearer.

So for now, gather around the fires, be together in your congregations, and light the lights. Rededicate yourselves to what you value, have faith that your commitment matters and that, in the words of the Psalm, joy cometh in the morning. And may the spirit of life and love be rekindled in your hearts this season. From my family to yours, and from all of us who work for our Association, I wish you happy holidays, peace and hope.

The Most Rev. Rowan Williams

Archbishop of Canterbury

Human beings are wrapped up in themselves. Because of that great primitive betrayal that we call the fall of humanity, we are all afraid of God and the world and our real selves in some degree. We can’t cope with the light. As John’s gospel says, those who don’t want to respond to God fear and run away from the light. But God acts to heal us, to bring us out of our isolation. … He does what we do; he is born, he grows up, he lives for many years a life that is ordinary and prosaic like ours _ he works, he eats, he sleeps. Here is ultimate love, complete holiness, made real in a back street in a small town. And when he begins to do new and shocking things, to proclaim the Kingdom, to heal, to forgive, to die and rise again … we know he speaks our language, he has responded to our actions and our words, he has echoed to us what we are like.

Christ does not save the world just by his death on the cross; we respond to that death because we know that here is love in human flesh, here is the creator’s power and life in a shape like ours. As we read the gospels, we should think of God watching us moment by moment, mirroring back to us our human actions _ our fears and our joys and our struggles _ until he can at last reach out in the great gestures of the healing ministry and the cross. And at last we let ourselves be touched and changed.

That’s what begins at Christmas. Not a doctor coming in with a needle or a surgeon with a knife, but a baby who has to learn how to be human by watching; only this baby is the eternal word of God, who is watching and learning so that when he speaks God’s transforming word we will be able to hear it in our own human language. He is God so that he has the freedom to heal, to be our “therapist.” He is human so that he speaks in terms we can understand, in the suffering and delight of a humanity that he shares completely with us. And now we must let him touch us and tell us that there is a world outside our minds _ our pride and fear and guilt. It is called the Kingdom of God.

MO/PH END RNS