The following is the Christmas Message 2025 of the Most Revd Andrew Chan, Primate & Archbishop of Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui:
Photo source: Screenshot of the YT video from HKSKH Echo
Dear citizens of Hong Kong,
Gold, frankincense, and myrrh – 2000 years ago, upon seeing the rising star and learning the news of the birth of Jesus, the Magi began their long journey to Bethlehem, to offer the Christ Child three precious gifts: gold for a king, frankincense for a God, and myrrh for someone who is to die. One month ago, when the tragic fire broke out in Wang Fuk Court, countless people travelled to Tai Po, bringing with them gifts that are no less precious: donations of clothing, food, shelter, and money; volunteer help in organising relief and comforting the victims; one fireman even gave the ultimate gift of sacrifice, and lost his life fighting for a chance that others may live. In the darkest hour, we see the brightest and best shining in Hong Kong.
It is now Christmas, and the brightest and best of the sons of the morning has dawned on our darkness. As we gather with our friends and family, or perhaps as we spend time with those in need of our love, what gifts can we bring them this year?
The merciless flames have cast an invisible shadow over Hong Kong. When we hear the words ‘Merry Christmas’, and when we see all these beautifully decorated Christmas trees around Hong Kong, we may question, ‘What is there to be merry about, when the innocent are suffering?’ But the message of Christmas can often shine the brightest when we find ourselves trapped in darkness.
Jesus himself was born into a world of darkness and conflict. His birth is often shown in art as a lovely scene with adorable animals, but in reality the manger is an unhygienic place for childbirth, where Mary had to endure the pain with only Joseph by her side. A few months later, after the Magi’s visit of the Holy Family, the baby Jesus had to flee with his family into Egypt in order to escape Herod’s soldiers. As a young man in his 30s, Jesus would be falsely accused, persecuted, and died the gruesome death of crucifixion.
But it was precisely because Jesus suffered that God understood humanity’s pain and agony. This connection made Jesus Christ the greatest gift of all: the Word has become flesh, and God is with us. After the Black Christmas of 1941, when the inmates of Stanley prayed to the cross, God was with them – Emmanuel. If we say God is love, then surely we’ve seen God in Hong Kong in the last month. There is nothing more Christ-like than the outpouring of love that Hong Kong witnessed after this tragedy. In a way, the Christmas spirit was truly alive this year.
But God didn’t just bring us gifts on a single day, because the gift of Christ is an eternal gift. The love that was born to us 2000 years ago is still alive, even to this day! The tragedy of Tai Po has moved many of us to spring into action out of love, but this must not be a one-off event. Very soon, because our modern world give us new things to worry about every week, attention on the Tai Po victims will diminish. Their worries will remain, and it will take considerable time for the survivors to recover fully from their loss, but the world will have moved on. What then? Should we only bring gifts to others when a big tragedy happens? No, it is especially when the world has moved on, when the world has stopped paying attention, that our love is most needed.
‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favours!’ So sang the angels to the lowly shepherds, who could offer nothing but their humble hearts to Jesus as their gift. It is those who have goodness in their hearts that God favours, and our world will be filled with peace instead of suffering, if only we cooperate with God, and hold on to that lingering goodness that is in all our hearts. This Christmas, a month after the flames of darkness have stopped burning, let us keep the fire of hope and love eternal in our hearts. Let us offer our continued love and charity to everyone who needs it. 2000 years ago, the Magi brought gifts to Baby Jesus; today, we also bring gifts to those we love, and to those who need our love. In the neglected and vulnerable, we see the image of Baby Jesus, and by bringing them gifts of love, we rediscover the ancient hope that brought light and life to a dark world. This Christmas, let us offer one another a Christmas of peace, remembering that no matter how dark the world may seem, the Christ Child is here with us, laying peacefully in the manger, with his star of hope leading us ever closer to him.
Merry Christmas!
The Most Revd Andrew Chan, Primate & Archbishop of Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui, Photo source: Screenshot of the YT video from HKSKH Echo
For more details of the Christmas Message 2025, please watch the Youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2GzNKVdvuo
