2024 Christmas Message of Bishop Antoine-Charbel Tarabay, Maronite Bishop of Australia, New Zealand and Oceania.
The hope of the people of the Old Testament and their expectations converge in the longing for the coming of the Messiah, the Saviour. In the fullness of time, the Son of God became incarnate, and dwelt among us. The angels sang on the night of his birth: “Glory to God in the highest, and on Earth peace…” (Luke 2:14). Today, if we are asked about our foremost wish for Christmas, the answer remains the same: “Peace, peace, grant us peace, O Lord of Peace.”
The Lord Jesus, the Emmanuel, came to reveal that God is with us, loves us, and desires life for us in abundance. He has always been close to each one of us. He came to restore our identity as children of God, enabling us to dialogue with Him intimately, calling Him with the confidence of children, “Our Father Who Art in Heaven.” He came to proclaim peace to those near and far. He came to spread a culture of peace, to walk with us in our sorrows and joys, and to establish a new people, the people of peace.
At the beginning of His public ministry, specifically in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9). After His resurrection, in His appearance to the apostles, He said: “Peace be with you” (John 20:19). In His final commandments to His disciples, He said: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you” (John 14:27).
Our world is, unfortunately, plagued by conflicts, divisions, and wars, fuelled by hatred, greed, destructive selfishness and the desire for power on the one hand. On the other hand, it is characterised by the rejection of God and his peace found in Jesus Christ.
Christmas reminds us every year that true and lasting peace comes only through the teachings and the person of Jesus Christ. His Birth brought two dimensions of peace; horizontal peace, reconciling humans with one another, especially those who believe in His holy name, and vertical peace, reconciling humanity with God through His Incarnation, Death, and Resurrection. By conquering sin, evil, and darkness, He has ensured that there is no evil, sin or darkness, that He cannot rescue us from, because “With God, nothing will be impossible” (Luke 1:37).
Christmas is an annual opportunity for us all to renew our commitment to work for peace and to share with others the peace that comes from God’s heart. However, we cannot give what we do not possess, and we cannot share God’s peace with others unless we have experienced and lived it in our own lives.
In the Book of Isaiah, we read: “Sing, O heavens, and rejoice, O earth, for to us a child is born, to us a son is given; his name is called the Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). To say “yes” to the Prince of Peace means first and foremost “no” to war and weapons, and “no” to violence and death. War is a failure of human dignity, and weapons do not build peace. To the contrary, they destroy it.
As peacemakers, we must amplify the voices of the voiceless, especially innocent children suffering from hunger, thirst, and deprivation, the elderly and disabled abandoned and forgotten, and the displaced who have lost, overnight, their homes and security. Let us strive to be instruments of peace, hope, and love in our broken world.
This Christmas, we pray for our nation, Australia, that faith may be renewed in hearts, hope rekindled in souls, and human dignity, religious freedom, and cultural diversity continue to flourish. We pray for an end to wars worldwide, especially in the Middle East, and for all those affected by conflict. May God bless and reward those who work tirelessly for peace and provide humanitarian aid, bringing light in the darkness of conflicts. May their efforts be a beacon of hope for a brighter future.
We lift our prayers for Lebanon, that the journey of peace that has begun will truly become a path toward stability and building a better future. Lebanon does not need weapons and conflicts but bread and hope for its children. Lebanon does not need a deliberate presidential vacuum but the swift election of a new president for the republic who upholds the Constitution and leads a much-needed reform. Lebanon does not want at all the emigration of its sons and daughters but desires for them to remain in their homeland and build the new Lebanon they dream of.
Our Catholic Church is preparing for the launching of the Jubilee Year of Hope 2025, as announced by Pope Francis. This Holy Year will begin on Christmas Eve, 24 December 2024. Locally, our Eparchy will mark this special year on the Feast of Saint Maroun, 9 February 2025, at Saint Maroun’s Cathedral in Redfern. As we approach the dawn of a new year, I pray that 2025 will bring to all of you joy, hope and peace.
As we celebrate Christmas, our gaze turns to the humble grotto of Bethlehem, where the miraculous Child Jesus lies in the manger. He invites us today and every day to enter His world, so that His peace may fill ours. In the words of Saint Leo the Great, “The birth of the Lord Jesus is the birth of peace.”
Christ is Born … Alleluia!