My CHRISTMAS MESSAGE\u00a0published in\u00a0Tasmania’s three newspapers:<\/p>\n
Hope for a desperate world<\/strong><\/p>\n How has 2011 been for you? It has brought its challenges, has it not? I guess it will be remembered for such \u2018natural\u2019 phenomena as the tsunami striking Japan, extraordinary floods in Thailand and, closer to home, floods and fires in our country.<\/p>\n But it will also be remembered for developments rooted in human behaviour \u2013 the Arab Spring, the Occupy movement, the European financial crisis, the Fukoshima nuclear disaster, the death of Osama bin Laden. And don\u2019t get me started on Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan\u2026<\/p>\n There was a Broadway musical in the 1960s titled Stop the World; I Want to Get Off<\/em> but, hey, that\u2019s not an option. Instead, I find myself frantically trying to get my head around what\u2019s going on, to get a glimpse into the issues, to respond rather than react. Is the new \u2018government\u2019 better than the disgraced tyrant? Can the global financial crisis be solved? What role does greed play? And gloating? And unbelief?<\/p>\n Where does hope lie? For millions, the Bible continues to speak into our human condition with hope and sure guidance. A columnist in Melbourne\u2019s The<\/em> Age<\/em> in early December, writes, \u201cWe do not see the Bible\u2026as having any weight in serious matters, moral, historical..<\/em>.\u201d, but offers instead only the \u2018rational\u2019 guidance of a liberal, secular society. In contrast, Greg Sheridan in The Australian<\/em> observes that whilst it is possible to tell right from wrong without religion, \u201cthere is little to suggest we are making a success of it<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n Much controversy and chaos, but personally I\u2019m glad Christmas is upon us once again. Christmas means hope; Christmas brings again a much-needed reminder of unchangeable truth.<\/p>\n God weeps for our world and the mess we are making of it and God has taken responsibility for our world by sending his Son.<\/p>\n Hope may be in desperately short supply for so many, but the Babe of Bethlehem brings just that, the sure hope that God loves us.<\/p>\n May you have a blessed Christmas as again we celebrate the Saviour\u2019s birth.<\/p>\n John Harrower<\/p>\n Anglican Bishop of Tasmania<\/p>\n See also, Christmas video<\/a>\u00a0 and\u00a0 Light of the world<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" My CHRISTMAS MESSAGE\u00a0published in\u00a0Tasmania’s three newspapers: Hope for a desperate world How has 2011 been for you? It has brought its challenges, has it not? I guess it will be remembered for such \u2018natural\u2019 phenomena as the tsunami striking Japan, … Continue reading