The Archbishop of Canterbury, spiritual head of more than 70-million Anglicans worldwide, and head of the Church of England has released a Christmas statement. Even though the Archbishop has endured a tough year with various public debates continuing within the Communion, Dr Williams has still called upon all Christians to look back over the past year with thanks to God.
A full text of Dr Williams’ Christmas message is shown below:
Perhaps the two images most of us will carry away from the last twelve months are those of the devastation caused by the tsunami just after last Christmas and by the hurricanes that devastated the southern states of America in the autumn. The natural world became a place of terror and disaster.
The question never quite goes away of why God made a world in which such tragedy is possible. But Christmas reminds us of the one thing we know for sure - and that is God's way of responding to suffering. He doesn't wave a magic wand, or descend briefly from the sky to clean things up. He arrives on earth as a human being who will change things simply by the completeness of his love. Jesus is dedicated to the will of the one he calls Father, the divine source of his own divine life. Never for a moment does he put any obstacle in the way of that ultimate, total outpouring of love that is the wellspring of his own life. He gives himself to this transforming purpose in every moment, whatever it costs.
