The early evening TV news today was all about wars, scandals and the doings of politicians, business leaders, football managers, "stars" of the theatrical and sports worlds and others of note.

I thought of the words of a New Testament writer:

"For everything in the world - the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does comes not from God but from the world.

"The world and its desires pass away but the man who does the will of God lives for ever." (1 John 2.16-17)

Then, feeling a bit cynical and depressed, I went out to sing carols with my church carol party.

As we sang the old carols, the words of one of the verses of Once In Royal David's City gripped me:

"With the poor, and meek, and lowly,

"Lived on earth our Saviour holy."

It brought home to me the very heart of Christmas.

Here was a man who, more than any other, did the will of God.

Yet he was born in an obscure Palestinian village and, as his family was homeless, his mother had her baby in a cave reserved for the cattle.

There was no nurse or doctor in attendance and when he was born he was wrapped in a rough cloth and laid in the manger out of which the cattle ate.

Growing up, he often had nowhere to lay his head and, during his earthly ministry, depended upon the love and gifts of his friends.

Finally, being rejected by the religious leaders of his people, he suffered the horrible death of crucifixion and was laid in someone else's tomb.

His followers believed he rose from the dead and they seemed to have strong evidence, because his life, lived in humble obscurity, has had more effect on world history than any other.

Even today his birth is celebrated all over the world, even by those who would not call themselves Christians but follow other faiths.

Whether we like it or not, we cannot escape him or ignore him. Even when we wish each other Happy Christmas, as most people in this country do, he becomes central to our thinking, if only for a few moments.

-The Reverend John Webster, Hove