REV ANDY DAVIS: A time to reflect on our attitude to money

I WONDER if, when you sing Christmas carols and remember Jesus being born, you think about what it means to be the Son of God.
By The Newsroom
Published 15th Dec 2016, 06:06 BST
Updated 17th Dec 2016, 09:41 BST
Rev Andy Davis at the recent Christingle serviceRev Andy Davis at the recent Christingle service
Rev Andy Davis at the recent Christingle service

Christians believe that phrase doesn’t just mean that God was in heaven looking down at his Son on earth.

We believe that God actually became a human being himself and chose to be born as a fragile baby.

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For the first few years of his life, he had to depend on his parents for everything.

You may remember Bishop David Jenkins, the former Bishop of Durham, who died earlier this year.

He had a wonderful expression that ‘Jesus is the human being that God chose to be.’

Just imagine what kind of person Jesus would have to be, to incorporate all of God’s love.

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And just imagine the insight we get into God’s character, by looking at Jesus’s life.

So we can see that God must be compassionate, someone who serves others, is kind, humble, welcomes strangers and outcasts, and is generous with time and possessions – because that is what Jesus was like.

It means that Christmas is a good time for us to reflect on our attitudes towards money and possessions.

Is it our wealth that should define us, or our generosity with that wealth?

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Should our possessions be our top priority, or our relationships with others?

These are questions for the church too – is it more important to have beautiful buildings, or to share those peaceful spaces with others?

We’ll be thinking about some of those issues as we celebrate Christmas.

Our carol service is on Sunday at Christ Church, from 6.30pm.

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Christ Church will also host our candlelit nativity service at 6.30pm on Christmas Eve, when our children will tell the story of Jesus being born.

And there are midnight masses from 11.30pm that night at both Christ Church and Holy Trinity.

And you can celebrate with us on Christmas Day, at 8am and 11am in Christ Church, and at 10am in Holy Trinity.

We’d love to help you to see the amazing difference it made to our world when this tiny baby appeared in humble circumstances 2,000 years ago.

n Holy Trinity Church is in Trinity Green, Gosport.

For more information about the church go to holytrinitygosport.co.uk or christchurchgosport.co.uk.

Related topics:JesusDurham