Christmas still evokes, for children at least, a sense of joy and wonder. I suspect for many grown ups fatigue and a certain cynicism creep in, and spoil the childlike awe. This, in part, is due to the commercialisation, which we have allowed to take over Christmas, though that is not all to be decried. Certainly the decorated store windows and lights bring joy into this very grey time of year.

The greater problem, I believe, lies in the way we have made of science and technology, the only paradigm of the way to knowledge and truth. So art, music and story become demoted to the area of entertainment, rather than being part of the search for truth. The Christmas story, which is at the heart of the celebration, is dismissed to the edge of our consciousness, or evokes only a vague nostalgia for a past, which, if we are honest, we never really knew. Either that, or the elements of the story become translated into quasi-historical fact which they were never intended to be, and they lose both their credibility to many, and their power, as story, to lead us into a greater than scientific or historical truth about the nature of our humanity.

I do not think we can go back on the process of life and development, which has brought us to where we are in western society. But as we move into the third millennium, there is a widespread sense of emptiness, and the need for a new spiritual search to make sense of life and give new hope and vigour for the future. I remain convinced that the void can be filled and a new world be born only if we reintegrate story, music poetry and art into the whole search for truth. In the Christian tradition, the place where the story is told, where it is developed and expounded in music art and dance, is the liturgy, celebrated daily, weekly and at the great seasons.

The liturgy of the Christmas season especially tells the story of a new life and a new world, and I believe that it is as relevant to the twenty-first century as it was to the first. Through our hearing of the story, and our taking it into our lives, we become part of that new life, and bear it to the world and the society in which we live.

The Clergy, Wardens and Staff of the Cathedral join me in sending their warmest greetings for this season. We wish you a joyous Christmas and a Happy New Year.