My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Greetings on this Christmas Day, as we celebrate the Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is my hope that at this very moment you are filled with the Christmas spirit of love, joy and peace.
The words of the angels, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”, which were offered in the hearing of the shepherds that proclaimed our Saviour’s birth, are also proclaimed to us on this day. The lyrics of, what can very well be considered, the first ever Christmas carol sung conveyed one of the great messages of Christmas, of how God offered us His Son to be our Prince of Peace, that whosoever believeth in Him and accept Him as their Saviour will know and experience the peace that only God can give to all those who have found His favour.
As I had mentioned in my message on our 2023 Diocesan calendar, we aspire for peace and live in a world that is crying out for peace. Many people, ourselves included, are praying and hoping for peace as we live in a world that appears to be lost and confused. Our world is plagued even now with many conflicts and wars and rumors of wars such as the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian War, the most recent Israel-Hamas conflict; and now within our Caribbean region, which we pride in ourselves to be a zone of peace, there is the border dispute between Guyana and Venezuela. Then there are the interpersonal tensions those between people of different faiths and even with those of no faith, people of varying political persuasions, those who are conservative and those who are liberal, employers and employees, parents and children, husbands and wives, clergy and congregations, and the list goes on. With all that is going on, we may very well be struggling with the Christmas message of Jesus truly coming into this world to bring peace; and whether there will ever be peace on earth.
Well, as we all know, the heart of the problem is the problem of the heart; hearts that lack peace with God, peace with others, peace with creation and peace within. God came in Jesus to provides the means and to make our hearts right. He came and offered us His love and mercy, and to show us how to do the same that will transform our hearts to experience the peace He created the world to have at the beginning of time.
May this Christmas, my friends, be a time when we are especially inspired to open our hearts and welcome such a transformation to take place as we accept and glorify Jesus as our Prince of peace; and endeavor to pattern our lives after His.
I pray that this Christmas, as we once again thank God for sending us His Son, to enable us to experience peace, that such peace will truly dwell in our hearts, in our relationship with Him, in our families and homes, in our churches among our brothers and sisters, in our places of learning and employment, in our districts, among our nations and throughout our lives.
May we be at peace, pursue the things that make for peace and build up the common life. Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with us as we commit ourselves to following daily the Prince of Peace.
On behalf of my family, I wish you and yours a blessed and peaceful Christmas season and God’s favour for the year 2024.
I am your friend and bishop,
+Michael Barbados