The Archbishop’s Christmas Message 2024

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
‘It came upon the midnight clear, that glorious song of old, “Peace on earth, good-will to men, from heaven’s all-gracious King!”’ The words of the Gloria are finally heard again as we arrive at Christmas from Advent: ‘Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on earth!’ Thousands of years ago, the angels announced the birth of Jesus to a group of shepherds, but as we repeat this hymn of the angels in 2024, as we echo the very first message that humanity received about Christ’s arrival, what exactly do we understand about the thing which God has brought us?
It is easy to be distracted by shiny things. When the shepherds looked up, they saw angels of light singing about the glory of heaven. When we look up now in our modern world, we see lights and prosperity, telling us the glory of money and power. But the story of Christmas isn't just about looking up. ‘Peace on earth, and good-will to men.’ The message of the angels is peace, not up above in a far away place, but right here on earth.
And not just any part of earth, but the lowliest and poorest place. The first people who heard the angels were shepherds, not kings or CEOs. And Jesus himself was born in a stable, not a luxurious hospital ward. Think: who are the lowliest and poorest right now in our society? In wealth, the homeless. In hope, those who are thinking of suicide. In personal freedom, those in prison and camps. And what about those who are poorest in love and compassion?
Jesus came not as a prince of war, but as a prince of peace. He did not come to kill the sinful with an army of angels, but to save them with something even more glorious and powerful than the highest archangel. God is love, and Jesus has come to reconcile us. His command for us is to have ‘good-will towards men’. Peace on earth will never be achieved if all we do every day is to count the ways our enemies have wronged us. Peace on earth will never be real if we only think about how to punish people, asking for an eye for an eye. Peace on earth will never come if we use our earthly power to their fullest, without listening to that small voice of compassion which lives in our hearts.
The modern Nativity Scene paints a peaceful picture: animals and the Magi surrounding the Holy Family. But Jesus was born to a violent world. Hearing the news of Jesus’ birth, King Herod ordered the murder of innocent children, fearing that a future ‘King of the Jews’ will take over his throne. But Jesus never grew up to challenge Herod’s earthly power. What Herod failed to understand was that the birth of Christ was an act of love, not an act of war. And what we are asked to bring is peace, not earthly power. How many of us can truly say we live in peaceful times? And how many of us are afraid of peace, because of the power we love?
We know how easy it is to be blinded and distracted by the visible wealth around us, but it is even easier to be blinded by the invisible power of this world. It is easy to say that with power, comes responsibility, but far too often we see people taking power and using it without holding back. There is nothing more powerful than God, and what he does with that ultimate power is to love and forgive. He loves us so much that he sent his only Son to die for us. Are the powerful people of this world willing to do the same? Are we willing to listen to the Christmas message, and realise that the strongest thing we can do for others is to bring peace by reconciling with them? If we do not learn how to forgive others, how can we hope to be forgiven when it is our time to be judged?
My dear friends, let us sing with the angels this Christmas! Let peace truly be found on earth! Peace to all our neighbours, no matter if they have wronged us in the past. Peace to both our friends and enemies, peace to both the East and the West, peace to Hong Kong, to China, and to the rest of the world. ‘When peace shall over all the earth its ancient splendours fling, And the whole world send back the song which now the angels sing.’ The angels never stopped singing the Gloria, but it is up to us, here on Earth, to respond to their song by our actions motivated by love. Gloria in excelsis Deo! Glory to God in the highest! And Peace to his people on earth!
Merry Christmas!
+ Andrew Chan