SVG Christian Council Christmas Message 2023

We are in the Season of Christmas, a time in which many of our sisters and brothers in other parts of the world are experiencing war and various forms of social unrest. In this context, we are asked to hear Christ’s message of hope and its meaning for all people of goodwill.

Throughout this year, 2023, Vincentians have experienced many senseless and horrific murders. This loss of life, especially of our young men, has rocked our small Island State and we continually look and seek God’s guidance, even as we listen to the news of gloom and destruction broadcasted by our media houses.

As Christians, we believe in God’s words of hope as is proclaimed in Romans 8:24-25 “24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at
all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25  But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently”.

Therefore, hope is about expectation and we constantly pray and look forward to eventually acquiring our needs, which is not just an easy optimism. Our hope reflects that of the Psalmist who says…even though I walk through the valley of death, I fear no evil for thou art with me, thy rod and staff comfort me (Psalm 23:4). This message of expectation has made us a resilient people and through this message of hope, we continue to nurture the young, assisting them to walk in the right path, for in them, we see the hope and future for our country.

This Christmas Season, we are exhorted to share positive values. From time to time, we may have had to share food with the poor and deprived, and this is a marvellous gesture of loving and caring; but as we look back on this year, 2023, and the difficulties and challenges we faced, we will need to talk more about the value of Christ in our lives.

Christ’s message of hope, love and care and the value of human life must resonate in our words to each other. It is thus necessary to promote Christ’s words of hope and peace (Romans 15:13) so that we can assist our people to resolve disputes in more respectful ways.

As such, the responsibility is on parents and everyone in authority to ensure that words of honesty and integrity, justice and peace, respect, love and hope, become part of our everyday discourse so that we may be seen as striving` to do’ rather than say; in other words, to walk the talk. Let this Christmas season bring positive changes in our lives and assist us to build a society of loving and caring persons, a people, who understand that Christ is the reason for the season and He has the message of hope. Let the incarnation of Christ fill our hearts during this Christmas time to a renewed hope that God is with us.

And as we celebrate His birth, we know that the Saviour of the world has come and has set in motion our hope for eternity found in Christ.

Happy Christmas everyone and God’s continued blessings for 2024!