Oneof the many school carol services taking place in the Cathedral this week hassome very short prayers for the children to say. These are the prayers:
'Josephand Mary travelled to Bethlehem where Jesus was born. Be with all youngchildren and those who look after them.'
'Jesuswas born in the stable because there was no room in the inn. Be with all whoare homeless.'
'Theshepherds listened to the angels who sang a song of peace on earth. Give peaceto our world today.'
'Theholy family left their land to live in a foreign country. Be with all refugeestoday.'
Theseprayers, short enough and simple enough for everyone to understand, tell us agreat deal about the Christmas story. They remind us that the Christmas story is not the sort of story thatbegins 'once upon a time' and ends 'and they all lived happily ever after'.It's a story that connects to the world we live in today. A world in which manychildren and other vulnerable people are exploited and abused. A world in whichmany people have nowhere to live. A world in which there are conflicts of manykinds, political unrest, oppression. Anda world in which people are displaced by war or famine from their homelands, desperatelyseeking a country that will take them in.
TheChristmas story tells us that Jesus, Mary and Joseph, experienced all this. Andthe Christian faith, behind the Christmas story, tells us that God himselfexperienced all this in the human life of Jesus. God was 'made flesh and dweltamong us'. That is the startling and triumphant claim of Christianity.That is what makes me a Christian. Because of a homeless child in Bethlehem.
Peter Atkinson, Dean ofWorcester
