I had it in mind to talk about the true spirit of Christmas, you know where we commemorate the birth 2,000 years ago, of Jesus, the Son of God to some, a great teacher to many and one of the most revered and honoured human beings ever born. In his most public and defining talks he tried to teach us the philosophy of forgiveness and love. A big gig, the sermon on the mount, one of his best a lot of us there but not many of us have listened. Hear what he was saying, Ye have heard it hath been said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, but I say unto you, that you resist not evil, but whosoever shall smite thee on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man sue thee at the law and take away thy coat, let him have your cloak also. Ye have heard that it has been said tou shalt love thy neighbour and hate thine enemy, but I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you and pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you. That ye may be the children of your Father who is in heaven, for He maketh his sun rise on the evil and the good, and sendeth rain on the just and unjust.
Powerful stuff and very meaningful for us today. The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln anchored off the stricken Indonesian coast reflects a semblance of a Christian spirit, the bombs rained down on Iraq do not.