Skies of Bethlehem ‘full of fear’, says archbishop in Christmas Day sermon

The Archbishop of Canterbury has used his Christmas Day sermon to highlight anti-Semitism in the UK and the suffering of children caught up in the Israel-Hamas war.

Referring to Jesus Christ’s birthplace, which is now in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, the Most Reverend Justin Welby said “the skies of Bethlehem are full of fear rather than angels and glory”.

He compared the turbulent conditions of Jesus’s birth with the modern-day plight of children in the troubled region.

The archbishop also spoke of children in the UK having to “hide their Jewishness on their way to school” in fear of the “age-old atrocious sin of anti-Semitism”.

In his sermon at Canterbury Cathedral on Monday morning, Mr Welby said: “Today a crying child is in a manger somewhere in the world, nobody willing or able to help his parents or her parents who so desperately need shelter.

“Or perhaps lying in an incubator, in a hospital low on electricity, like the Anglican al Ahli hospital in Gaza, surrounded by suffering and death.

“Maybe the newborn lies in a house that still bears the marks of the horrors of October 7, with family members killed, and a mother who counted her life as lost.

“Or maybe they’re not a newborn, but someone thinking of next term, having again to hide their Jewishness on their way to school in this country, or a playgroup in our own cities, fearful of the age-old atrocious sin of antisemitism.”

Also referring to Ukraine, Sudan and South Sudan, the archbishop said: “Around the world, we are beset with violence.”

He said a commitment to “serving, not in being served” was needed to resolve problems of climate, war, terrorism, antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism and “the injustice of economic inequality”.

Jesus “confronts our cruelty with his compassion” and “responds to our selfishness with service”, Mr Welby said.

The archbishop conducted the coronation of the King and suggested that Charles is following the example of Jesus in providing leadership through service.

He said: “Such was that child’s impact that 2,000 years later, in our culture it seemed natural and right for a King in royal robes to answer a child, ‘I come not to be served, but to serve’ – and we know that that is the right way to be a king.

“From Joseph in Egypt to Jesus in Bethlehem, to Charles at Westminster Abbey, great leadership is seen in serving, not being served; in self-emptying, not seeking power.”

Charles is set to knight the archbishop in the upcoming New Year Honours list, according to reports.