Father Sebastian Writes

“Dear Friends,

My cordial greetings to all of you. We are at a juncture of confusion about the meaning of Christmas. At the heart of Christmas is the "good news of great joy" spoken of by the angel in Luke 2. "For today in the city of David there has been born for you a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord."

Christmas is so sacred because it observes the birth of a Saviour. Jesus has been born to save all people. But from what? Not from what many people today think they need to be saved: political oppression, a bad economy, gender bias, political incorrectness, social inequality. So many today feel "victimised" by a hundred things, but not the one thing that has truly victimised them: SIN.

Matthew 1:21: "and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins." Christmas is truly good news to those who know all too well the crushing burden of their sinfulness. It is a great joy to those who feel unworthy of God's love, who are afraid of His punishment, who struggle with guilt. In a sense Christmas is only for such people. For them it is a celebration of God's complete forgiveness and unconditional love through the Saviour, Jesus Christ.

I wish a happy and grace-filled Christmas to all of you. May I thank you for being here in our church and for supporting the parish so well.

Yours truly,

Fr. Sebastian”

Fr. Sebastian Arikat
Priest in Charge
Christmas 2008

To find out more about Father Sebastian, click here.