He was reaching for hope, the world around him was full of complexities and fears, intractable problems and violence. In December 1967 he had said: "This Christmas season finds us a rather bewildered human race. In that 1967 Christmas sermon, he had followed the Bethlehem narrative into Easter, describing it in one of his favourite phrases: An eternal reminder of the fact that the truth crushed to earth will rise again. Christmas reminds us of our essential calling to be people of hope. At the heart of Christmas is the baby in Bethlehem, do we have the courage to believe in new beginnings, to be people of hope?

Source: The Times December 25, 2023 13:11 UTC