Christmas is our homecoming and an annual reminder of the greatest story ever told - that God is with us in our world's sorrows and joys, said Bishop Stephen in his Christmas Day sermon at Salisbury Cathedral.
Citing research which suggests that modern day songs are sadder than in previous eras, he reminded the congregation of the faith of the people of Alderney, who this year celebrated the 80th anniversary of their 'Homecoming', which happened just days before Christmas in 1945. As the people of the island returned home, one man played on his cornet the song 'There's no place like home'. The song was repeated at this year's anniversary.
Bishop Stephen said that today many of us were in search of a home, which Christ offers.
"Our generations seem to face a different desperation and the wearing down of recognisable norms and safe places.
"But mere nostalgia won’t break us out of this. Christmas is not nostalgia gone mad for a few days, it is a revisiting of the greatest story ever told, a homecoming to the truth that God made his home with us and that there is, amid all the muck and mess of humanity, hope that we might find our home in heaven.
"A future of faith will be happier, will help our hearts sing and will unite us around the Prince of Peace. This is why the recent attempt by some to take the Christian message hostage for a political end is doomed. Christ is in Christmas and does not need to be ‘put back’ – the clue is in the name, Christmas.
"Imagine that you had been sent away from home, by force, for five long years. Or imagine, like so many in Gaza or the Sudans, you would have no home to return to after this service. What would you sing? Would you sing songs of sadness or anguish, or songs of hope and returning. Christmas reminds us; however we are and however we are feeling today that we all have a home because God has made his home among us. There is joy to the world, and today, it is here, in the home of your heart. Christmas is our human homecoming".