Christmas Day 2022

‘In the beginning was the Word.’  Writing in Greek, St John draws on the imagery of the Book of Genesis and the language of Greek philosophy to describe the mystery of Christmas. From the beginning the divine light has shone. Always it was coming into the world; always it enlightened every person alive in their reason and conscience. Archbishop William Temple, who preached from this pulpit on more than one occasion, was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1942 – 1944. In his Readings in St John’s Gospel, Temple wrote that the Divine Word describes God’s self-revelation. He says ‘What is constituted within that divine self-communication …. is the energy of Life; this is what urges all kinds of living things forward in their evolution; and this is what is fully and perfectly expressed in Christ. So it may be truly said that the conscience of the human being is the voice of Christ within. All that is noble in the non-christian systems of thought, or conduct, or worship is the work of Christ upon them and within them. By the Word of God – that is to say, by Jesus Christ – Isaiah, and Plato, and Zoroaster, and Buddha, and Confucius conceived and uttered such truths as they declared. There is only one divine light; and everyone, each to their measure, is enlightened by it.’

The ecumenical breadth of Temple’s theological vision is by no means a modern conceit. Justin Martyr, the Second Century Apologist, says much the same thing. Goodness, truth, and beauty, in all their wonder and complexity, find their most concentrated expression in the mystery of ‘the Word made flesh.’ The miracle of Christmas speaks of the restoration of our humanity in all its fragility and vulnerability. In the incarnation, we learn that our humanity matters. It is worthy of redemption. We discover the dignity of being made in the image and likeness of God.

This year marks the eightieth anniversary of the publication of another book by Archbishop William Temple. Published in 1942 in the context of a war in Europe, Christianity and Social Order became a best-seller. It’s impact at the time was immense. Temple had been a contemporary of Beveridge here in Oxford – and 1942 also marked the publication of the Beveridge report. These two publications in many ways served to provide the vision of a new social order. Beveridge provided a blueprint for social policy in post-war Britain, addressing the five giant evils of Want, Disease, Ignorance, Squalor and Idleness. It was a bold and compelling vision which provided the foundation for the Welfare State. Although Temple himself was reluctant to embrace particular policy initiatives, (for him, that was not the role of the Christian Church), his writings somehow articulated the foundations for the post-war consensus to emerge.

Of course, so much has changed since 1942. Our politics are less consensual. Public discourse often appears to be fragmented. Our communities seem fractured.  We live in a city of contrasts – a city where extraordinary wealth and privilege flourishes, while we are confronted daily by human need, by homelessness, addiction, hunger, poverty and poor health. Meanwhile the drums of war beat again in Europe amidst a growing ecological crisis.

Perhaps this Christmas is an opportunity for us to pause and reflect about the kind of society we want to live in. What is it that causes us to reach out to one another? What compels us to welcome the stranger and the refugee? Where can we find the language and the resources to describe afresh the dignity of being human? How can we begin to imagine a future that is bigger than the past? Perhaps St John reminds us of the wisdom of going back to the beginning, to listen afresh to that Divine Word, which makes itself heard in the vulnerable and persistent cry of a tiny child.