Bp. Martyn Minns' Christmas Message: Jesus Is Closer Than Ever!

December 21, 2009

Another poor baby has arrived. He’s homeless. He’s clothed in rags. His mother is unmarried. His people are treated as refugees in their own land. That’s how the First Advent happened.

Well, you don’t need me to tell you that some things haven’t changed that much and the state of the global village is decidedly mixed. Perhaps you now find yourself unemployed or rocked by a foreclosure or facing some overwhelming challenge. In the midst of these problems we may feel that Jesus is so far away. But it’s precisely during these times of turmoil that Jesus is closer than ever.

Jesus’ teaching about the Final Judgment (Matthew 25:31–46) makes the point that the God who became flesh and dwelt among us has never really left us. Jesus foretold that at the Second Advent he will say to the faithful: “I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.”

For those of us in the depths of despair, Jesus’ words remind us that he so identifies with our problems that he says he is the one who is hungry; he is the one who is thirsty; he is the one who feels like a stranger. We don’t face our problems alone. Jesus suffers when we’re suffering. Jesus is closer than ever.

Jesus’ words also are a clarion call to the church during these days. With longer lines of people at food pantries, with homeless shelters accommodating more and more “middle-class” families, with more people knocking on our church doors for help, the opportunities to feed the hungry and shelter the homeless are not hard to find. Jesus is closer than ever.

Your church may feel that the numbers of people needing help are overwhelming, and that your members have so few resources of their own. But we recall the time that Jesus took two fish and five loaves of bread, all that the disciples had to offer, and fed a crowd of more than 5,000 hungry people. They didn’t think they had enough but Jesus took what they offered and blessed a multitude. Jesus is still at work.

I heard about him showing up at a federal penitentiary in Kentucky where CANA Chaplain John Hallock has led many Muslim inmates to Christ this year. Jesus is also at work in Garland, Texas, where Christ the Redeemer Church has initiated a multi-faceted outreach in a public housing neighborhood and many lives have been transformed. Last November I saw Jesus at work in a congregation of 200-some homeless men and women who regularly worship at Truro Church in Fairfax, Virginia. Last week I heard about ways in which Jesus is changing lives at All Saints Church in San Antonio, Texas. Jesus is busy throughout CANA; he’s all over the country. Jesus is closer than ever . . . if we just have eyes that want to see him.

Let us go to the manger. Let us marvel in his presence. Let us bring him our gifts. Let us tell others about him. Jesus is here!

Your Brother in Christ,
+Martyn
The Rt. Rev'd Martyn Minns

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