Following on from the pandemic we now have more things online including access to Sunday worship services, Bible Studies, and Wednesday’s weekly Compline. At Sea Cadets during the pandemic, I, and a number of chaplains, provided messages online nationally and for my own Unit, I recorded our Divisional Prayers each month and other events as required. Christmas was always a time for an online message and that tradition has continued. (In fact before this Christmas I was asked about my online Christmas message so the ‘tradition’ is established! 🙂 )

This Christmas we have family with us including our new granddaughter and with her parents’ permission I held her as I gave this year’s Christmas message and prayers – after all Christmas and babies go together. (I also assured everyone that Sea Cadets, as brilliant as it is, doesn’t take cadets until they are ten years old! 😉 ) And here’s what I said …

Hello! I hope your Christmas is going well! After all Christmas draws our attention to a baby and they simply draw love out of us!

We’ve had another busy and active and successful year and I’m sure 2025 will be even better. There is so much to do at the Unit, at the lake, on courses, at competitions, in the community which is all part of the Sea Cadet experience.

Yes, Christmas is about babies – from the Gospel of Luke chapter 2 – And the angel said to [the shepherds], “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:10-12 ESV)

The story of Christmas, that baby lying in a feed trough, in not pristine circumstances is the story of God entering our world – coming onto the world’s stage so that all people might have the best Life Experience. In the humility of Jesus, we find a picture of God with which we can relate. Naturally we’d prefer for God to be a Superman type God or a genie God to grant us all our wishes and we think we’d choose well but humanity’s track records of doing things we think are right are pretty terrible – just look at history – just look at the world today.

But in the baby in the manger we have God coming close to offer us another way to live – the best Life Experience – because God has declared his love and mercy to us first. And nothing can separate us from God’s love – not even death. Jesus’ cross and empty tomb are stories for another time but at Christmas we take note that God is not up himself so much that he won’t be humble, he won’t be poor, he won’t seek to serve us so we can have the best Life Experience in this world by following him. The angel’s message was good news of great joy because life of drudgery, fear, and meaninglessness need no longer be lived.

At TS Protector we want everyone – and everyone at the Unit wants everyone – to have the best Sea Cadet Experience possible as we live out the Sea Cadet values, engage in our activities, and as we support each other and the community.

At Christmas time, God wants everyone to have the best Life Experience as the world focuses on baby Jesus – discovers God’s love and forgiveness and that we can’t stop God doing that because love and mercy is what he wants to do – and that foundation offers the best Life Experience possible. Christmas is a story of good news and great joy – you – you – are most precious to God!

Thanks for listening!

And thank you for reading! And yes, you are most precious to God!

GS