Summer has been very slow getting underway this year in our part of the country. Each time we have started to enjoy a couple of warm days, another cold snap has arrived, prompting us to dig out winter coats again and restart the heating that we had closed down for the year. There’s been a series of interruptions that have got in the way of the normal progress of the weather.

That’s been the story of the year a bit more widely, too. COVID has been an ever-present risk, and most of us have spent the year constantly looking over our shoulder in case we get caught by infection and illness. Even those who haven’t been sick themselves know many others close to them who have been ill, which has had impacted our families, parishes, schools and workplaces. We’ve all become very used to our plans being interrupted, with last-minute changes, apologies and cancellations.

Then, for large numbers in our Diocese and other parts of the country, the floods of the last couple of months interrupted everything else, while communities watched with growing anxiety as the waters slowly rose, and then eventually fell again. Even now, many people have still not been able to return home, and are facing months of house repairs and difficult decisions, before they can return to their normal lives.

Overseas, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has cast a shadow over all our lives, reminding us of the human capacity to inflict suffering on one another, and of how fragile peace is.

The end result is that I think we’re all a bit more run-down than we normally would be at the end of the year, and we feel like lots of things we’ve been involved in haven’t made as much progress as we had hoped when the year began. And as we look forward from here, we know that there’s every likelihood that this will continue into 2023.

We are about to celebrate Jesus’ birth, which is always an occasion of great joy and hope, especially as we are able to gather again, without restrictions, with our families and friends in our homes and churches. We celebrate the faithful love of our God, who cares so much for us that he comes to enter fully into our lives, taking on our very flesh and blood.
But just like many of our plans during this year, Jesus’ own life was full of interruptions and disappointments. Mary and Joseph were forced to flee as refugees to Egypt to avoid Herod’s violence. There were many times when Jesus was let down by his disciples. And eventually, his mission to proclaim the coming of God’s reign was interrupted by the Jewish leaders and Roman authorities, who conspired to execute him.

So, as we celebrate Jesus’ birth at Christmas, we are also invited to recommit ourselves to carrying on his unfinished mission, remembering that the God who sent him amongst us also raised him from the dead, and continues to walk faithfully with us, asking us to shape our world ever more into one where his love and peace are known and celebrated, and where all people are recognised as his beloved sons and daughters.

I wish each of you, and those you love, the joy, peace and hope of this Christmas season.