Archbishop of Armagh reflects on Christmas
The Archbishop of Armagh, Most Rev Alan Harper, in a Christmas message states:
There is a message that every person in Ireland needs to hear and take to heart this Christmas whether we live in Northern Ireland or the Republic. It is good news in what has been a terrible year for so many: To you is born in the City of David a Saviour, Christ, the Lord.
We may be angry, frustrated and worried for the future. We may feel let down and ashamed in our economic situation, as well as stunned by the speed of it all. Yet we also know that most adults bear a measure of responsibility for what has happened. Greed took possession of us and we discovered too late that what has undermined the country is a false reality and a neglect of the moral and social relationships that really matter. However, the Christmas message is this: God has not and will not write us off. The birth of Christ demonstrates that we are not worthless, indeed we are of infinite worth in God’s eyes, and therefore we can be confident that He loves us and continues to consider us worth caring for.
And there is more good news: we are down but we are not out! We need to re-establish the values and principles that are surer and more admirable foundations for society than those which seduced us. Generosity and thrift in place of selfishness and greed; honesty and straightforwardness in place of self delusion; kindness; unselfish care for others; the priority of community; most of all a turning to God and to worship which means placing service and spiritual enrichment at the forefront of our personal and national lives. We also need a new vision of society as one extended family, a single community of persons committed to one another by obligations of love and respect. To love means to give and receive that which can neither be bought nor sold, neither earned nor stolen.
http://www.ireland.anglican.org/index.php?do=news&newsid=3347