In his Christmas message, the Most Revd John Davies, Primate and Archbishop of Wales, asks us to be a gift of truth and love to others.
“You matter to me”/"Rwyt o bwys i mi"
In a time when the world faces profound challenges and chilling threats and our own country is sharply divided, we need to be a living gift of truth and love to others, says the Archbishop of Wales in his Christmas message.
Ar adeg pan mae’r byd yn wynebu heriau dybryd a bygythiadau arswydus a rhaniadau llym yn ein gwlad ein hunain, mae angen i ni fod yn rhodd fyw o wirionedd a chariad at eraill, medd Archesgob Cymru yn ei neges Nadolig.
Transcript (English)
The giving of a gift ought never to be a mere gesture, rather it should be a tangible way of expressing affection, love or regard for the person to whom it’s given. Whether it’s an expensive gift, something much simpler or, frankly, just a card, any gift is a means of saying to someone else ‘I care; you matter.’
In or around the 8th century B.C., the prophet Isaiah expressed beautifully just how much the then people of Israel mattered to God: ‘You are precious in my eyes, and honoured, and I love you.’ In other words, ‘You matter to me.’ The task of those people was not to bask in the warm glow of such an expression of their value, but to be, in themselves, a gift to other nations, an example of just, peaceful and loving existence; an example which others could follow, for their good and the good of all and the good of the world. To show that they mattered too. Sadly, things did not always work out as intended, and the people were led astray.
But, because they still mattered, to bring his people and, through them, the world back to ways of goodness, a greater gift was given - the gift of Jesus Christ, whom Christians believe makes God and God’s loving purposes visible and tangible. The Evangelist John expressed this when he wrote that God so loved the world that he gave his only son for the life of the world, and that all who received him and welcomed him were given the opportunity to live as God’s children. Those children, like the former people of Israel, had a calling to fulfil and a task to undertake: a calling to live truly by the teachings of Jesus, and a task to draw others to do the same; and to do this, not just for their own good, but for the good of all and the good of the world, ‘because’, as Isaiah had put it, ‘you are precious, and I love you.’ You matter.
As we come to another Christmas and again celebrate the gift, to the world, of Jesus, the world’s need of justice, peace and love are all too obvious. Whatever may have been the outcome of the General Election, the election campaign exposed sharp divisions in our country, and much of the language of the campaign was anything but inspiring. Beyond our own country, the world and its communities, and the very planet on which we all live, face profound challenges and chilling threats. Injustice, hunger, persecution, abuse and conflict are the daily experience of too many. An experience of truth and love is long overdue for them because, like you they matter, the world matters. Please recognise the potential which you have to be a living gift of truth and love to others and to the world around by receiving and welcoming the gift of Jesus Christ and his teachings.
I wish you a blessed, hopeful and thoughtful Christmas, and a New Year in which to be God’s gift to others, because they are precious, they are loved, and they matter.
Trawsgrifiad (Cymreg)
Ni ddylai rhoi rhodd fyth fod yn ystum gwag, yn hytrach dylai fod yn ffordd ddiriaethol o fynegi hoffter, cariad neu barch at y person y caiff ei rhoi iddynt. P'un a yw'n rhodd ddrud, yn rhywbeth llawer symlach neu'n wir yn ddim ond cerdyn, mae unrhyw rodd yn ffordd o ddweud wrth rywun arall 'Mae bwys gen i: rwyt ti o bwys.'
Yn neu o amgylch yr 8fed ganrif C.C, mynegodd y proffwyd Eseia yn hyfryd yn union pa mor bwysig oedd pobl Israel i Dduw: 'Am dy fod yn werthfawr yn fy ngolwg, ac yn ogoneddus, a minnau'n dy garu'. Mewn geiriau eraill 'Rwyt o bwys i mi'. Tasg y bobl hynny oedd peidio ymhyfrydu yng ngwres datganiad o'r fath o'u gwerth, ond i fod, ynddynt eu hunain, yn rhodd i genedlaethau eraill, yn enghraifft o fodolaeth gyfiawn, heddychlon a chariadus; yn enghraifft y gallai eraill ei dilyn, er eu lles eu hunain a lles pawb a lles y byd. I ddangos eu bod hwythau o bwys hefyd. Ysywaeth, nid oedd pethau bob amser yn gweithio allan fel y bwriadwyd, a chafodd pobl eu harwain ar gyfeiliorn.
Ond, oherwydd eu bod yn dal i fod o bwys, i ddod â phobl, a thrwyddynt hwy, y byd yn ôl i ffyrdd daioni, rhoddwyd rhodd fwy - y rhodd o Iesu Grist, a gred Cristnogion sy'n gwneud Duw a dibenion cariadus Duw yn weladwy a diriaethol. Mynegodd yr Efengylydd Ioan hyn pan ysgrifennodd y carodd Duw y byd gymaint nes iddo roi ei unig fab er mwyn bywyd y byd, a bod pawb a'i derbyniodd ef ac a'i croesawodd ef yn cael cyfle i fyw fel plant Duw. Roedd gan y plant hynny, fel cyn bobl Israel, alwad i'w chyflawni a thasg i ymgymryd â hi: galwad i fyw'n wirioneddol yn ôl dysgeidiaeth Iesu, a thasg i dynnu eraill i wneud yr un fath; ac i wneud hyn, nid dim ond er eu lles eu hunain, ond er lles pawb a lles y byd, 'oherwydd' fel y dywedodd Eseia, 'am dy fod yn werthfawr, a minnau'n dy garu'. Rwyt o bwys.
Wrth i ni ddod at Nadolig arall ac eto ddathlu'r rhodd o Iesu i'r byd, o mae angen y byd am gyfiawnder, heddwch a chariad yn amlwg iawn. Beth bynnag fu canlyniad yr Etholiad Cyffredinol, dangosodd yr ymgyrch etholiadol raniadau llym yn ein gwlad, ac roedd llawer o iaith yr ymgyrch yn unrhyw beth heblaw ysbrydoliaeth. Tu hwnt i'n gwlad ein hunain, mae'r byd a'i gymunedau, a'r blaned lle'r ydym i gyd yn byw, yn wynebu heriau dybryd a bygythiadau arswydus. Mae anghyfiawnder, newyn, erledigaeth, cam-driniaeth a gwrthdaro yn brofiad dyddiol gormod o bobl. Mae'n hen bryd iddynt hwythau gael profiad o wirionedd a chariad oherwydd, fel chi maent o bwys, mae'r byd o bwys. Cydnabyddwch y potensial sydd gennych i fod yn rhodd fyw o wirionedd a chariad i eraill ac i'r byd o amgylch drwy dderbyn a chroesawu rhodd Iesu Grist a'i ddysgeidiaeth.
Dymunaf Nadolig bendithiol, gobeithiol ac ystyriol i chi, a Blwyddyn Newydd i fod yn rhodd Duw i eraill, oherwydd ein bod yn werthfawr, oherwydd y cawn ein caru, a'n bod yn bwysig.