Justin Welby sermon: Covid is making us all face unpredictability | Justin Welby

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In his Christmas sermon, the Archbishop of Canterbury said everyone in society, from cabinet ministers to hard sleepers, had faced “uncertainty, uncontrollability and unpredictability” during the Covid pandemic.

Justin Welby, who led Christmas mass at Canterbury Cathedral, added that the past 22 months have also shown people’s capacity for compassion and generosity.

In particular, he paid tribute to those who rescued the refugees who crossed the Channel to reach the UK, and the volunteers who welcomed and cared for people looking for a new life.

He told the worshipers: “As a nation we have collectively confronted as we have never faced before with our limits – our fragility, the breasts of life and our mortality. Millions have experienced suffering and loss.

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“We are all faced with uncertainty, uncontrollability and unpredictability, from Sage and Cabinet to every one of us, from huge corporations to those sleeping in dire conditions.

But he added: ‘There is no doubt in our human ability to solve problems and to show great kindness. I am sure the Deputy Lord Lieutenant-Colonel who has been touring Kent over the past year has been inspired by what the Volunteers do.’

“There have been volunteers in my mind, welcoming and looking after the refugees who arrive at the shores very close to this cathedral. These volunteers are extraordinary people, especially the RNLI crews. I saw them the other day, and they handled it — five times as many callouts as they got. In the history of the Dover lifeboat, they did one thing – save life at sea.

It is not politics, it is simply humanity.

“And volunteers today are at food banks and other places of rest and help show this country as it should be, at its best, as we dream it to be: a beautiful sign of compassion, generosity and living by the saying ‘It’s not about me’.”

He said the Christmas story “shows us how we must treat those who are not like us, who have much less than us, who have lived with the ravaged frontiers of war and national tragedy – those who risk everything to reach the shores, who suffer from poverty and poor housing, and lack of food.” The endless anxiety, the health injustice, in all of this, our country.”

People have been wondering for months if Christmas will “save” amid the ongoing pandemic and the Omicron variant of Covid, he said. “But let’s put things right – it is not we who saved Christmas, it is Christmas that saves us. We cannot save ourselves. But God can – the gift of salvation is given not only to some people, but to all.”

Some churches have canceled Christmas Eve masses and carols this year amid fears of contracting the Covid virus, although there are no government restrictions on indoor gatherings.

The Church of England has launched its first virtual reality hymn service aimed at people who are unable or unwilling to attend the service in person.

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