Region's bishops share their Christmas messages

For many people Christmas is their favourite day of the year. It is certainly mine.

As we approach year's end the sights and sounds of Christmas - Advent wreaths, Christmas trees, lights, nativity scenes, and Christmas carols - begin to fill me with a sense of hope and joy.

While Christmas may not be the holiest day of the year for Christians, it is often our most joyful, and the joy seems to spread to people of other faiths and no faiths, too.

Peeling back all the layers of Christmas sights and sounds - some religious and some secular - we find at the heart of Christmas the birth of the child Jesus 2000 years ago in a stable in Bethlehem.

The birth of the Son of God in human flesh expresses most tenderly the love that God has for us, his closeness to us, and his desire that we draw closer to him and to one another.

Christmas does indeed seem to be the time that we most desire to be together, and so we come together in these Christmas weeks for all manner of gatherings as workmates, as friends, as neighbours, and as family.

Christmas also seems to be the time in which we reflect upon the year that has just been. Perhaps this is simply because Christmas coincides with the close of another year and the immanent arrival of a new one.

Be that as it may, it is an opportunity to consciously bring our year that has just been to the Lord, to present it to him with all its joys and challenges, to reflect on how we have fared in our choices and actions, and to seek his grace and blessing upon our lives and plans for the year ahead.

As I reflect on the past 12 months, I am cognizant that it has not been an easy year.

Our Hunter community was gripped in deep sorrow earlier this year by the Hunter bus tragedy. The loss of precious life shook many of us to the core as we mourned together.

But we also prayed together and supported one another through this profound grief. In that time of darkness, we witnessed the grace of God and the best of human nature in how people responded with selfless compassion and kindness.

Nationally, the most significant event of the year was probably the Voice referendum. Election campaigns can be tough at times which was certainly the case this year.

Whilst both the result and the tone of some of the campaigning may have been disappointing to some, I think the whole process highlighted a couple of things on which we as a nation can and must build for the future: one, Australians are greatly concerned for wanting better lives and outcomes for our Indigenous people, and two, it is possible for good people to reach different conclusions about the best way to achieve desired goals and outcomes, in which case listening to each other is crucial.

Globally, we were shocked and horrified by the Hamas attack on Israel and are grieved by the mounting loss of innocent Palestinian lives in Gaza.

This event, as well as the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, has certainly reminded us of the hatred that can be stirred up in human hearts and, as a result, just how precarious peace can be.

In the face of such violence we are called to be instruments of peace, to pray earnestly, and to strive for understanding.

So, this Christmas we bring to the Lord a year of both darkness and light, sorrow and joy, grief and hope. I'm sure anybody who reflects on their own personal life this year will find an interplay of both good and evil in some way, as does mine - such is the human condition.

Let us bring it all to God with a joyful hope for the future and let us take advantage of Christmas to draw closer to each other as God intended.

I wish you a truly joyful Christmas and blessed new year.

Dr Peter Stuart, the Anglican Bishop of Newcastle:

I have recently come from Christ Church Cathedral. I am often there. On this occasion, I had the opportunity to think about the night nearly 15 years ago when I was consecrated a Bishop.

The Cathedral is a place where many women and men have been ordained for ministry in the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle. It is a beautiful place with many signs and symbols of the Christian story.

Most of us form significant memories of people and we often associate those memories with places. We might recall the first date with our partner or where they proposed. We might remember where we were as we heard of a tragic death or a major achievement.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people invite us to learn their rich understanding of place. Their connection to Country is profound. As they walk the land, see the waters and touch the trees they connect with their ancestors. They teach us that Country is like a person. It sustains life in every respect - spiritually, physically, emotionally, socially, and culturally.

In the story of Christmas, we are taken to a place - to Bethlehem. Mary and Joseph are compelled to travel. They find temporary, uncomfortable accommodation. They must rely on the hospitality of others. During the night Mary's waters break, the labour pains come with increasing intensity, and a child is safely born. Mother and baby survive.

Millions of people over 2000 years have been to this birthplace in Bethlehem. In awe and wonder they reflect on the events of that night. They hear the echoes of the gospel stories. "The fullness of God became flesh and lived among us." The lines for Christmas carols come to mind. "O come let us adore him, Christ the Lord."

This year the streets of Bethlehem will be very quiet. A month ago, Palestinian Christian leaders decided to reduce the usual public celebrations. Their civic leaders cannot see integrity in holding joyous events when their fellow citizens are suffering.

Terror followed by violence should have no place in the world. The war has brought so much hurt and heartbreak to Israelis and Palestinians. It shows no signs of ending.

I invite everyone to think through their connection to place. I invite them then to imagine those places being desecrated or destroyed. To consider the anguish as cherished memories are trodden upon. With this imagination we are moved with compassion for those who are separated from land or country - here and overseas.

Bethlehem in Jesus' day was under Roman military occupation. The usual routines of life were replaced. Armed soldiers wielded their authority.

The Gospel's tell us that Jesus, the child born in Bethlehem, was to be known as "the Prince of Peace." The Gospel writers rejected the Roman idea of peace secured by force. They saw in Jesus, God's way of love. That love for friends and enemies was a better way. Love which believes and hopes in goodness and abundant life. Peace would come to the world when we learned to love God and love our neighbours. We simply have not learnt this lesson. There has been regular conflict since Jesus' birth. We still have a lot to learn about loving others.

Most of us cannot make an immediate difference to world events. But, we can make a difference in our homes, workplaces, and social settings. We can strive to make every place a place of love. Many of us have sacred places which remind us that there is more to this world than we normally see. Spaces where we are moved to awe and wonder. Natural or built spaces which inspire us to compassion, love, and service.

My prayer is that over these days you might find sacred spaces in which you touched by the Divine. That the truth of love that Christians celebrate in the birth of Jesus might bless you, those you love and those who love you in some way.