In the two weeks before Christmas, I learnt of two people who had died as a result of work accidents.
It was a sobering reminder as we celebrate Christmas, that Jesus came into a world of pain and suffering, and that suffering is still with us.

In Genesis chapter 3 we learn that the cause of human suffering and death is our estrangement from God, which is the result of our human choice of sin and rebellion against God.
While it was first described in Genesis, we see it repeated in every generation since then, and in the world around us now.

To those who refuse to recognize our sinful human condition, and our need to be saved from sin, Christmas tends to be a superficial enjoyment of worldly comforts or luxuries, and human suffering tends to be ignored.
So, it can be a time when the lonely and ailing feel isolated and forgotten.

But Jesus said in Matthew 5:3-4, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”
And even while we face the reality of human pain and suffering, we can celebrate Christmas with a deep and unshakeable joy, and also every week as we celebrate Communion here, for Jesus has healed the cause of our pain and suffering.
Sickness and death are still with us, but they do not have the final say.
For in his victory on the cross, Jesus has defeated the power of sin, and its resulting suffering and death, over us.

On the cross, Jesus, who was without sin, took on himself the penalty of death for our sin, that we may be forgiven and judged as righteous in God’s sight.
Through Jesus we are restored to a right relationship with God, as his children.

This is a free and undeserved gift from God, received when we repent and turn to Jesus, and place our faith in him.

And the new life he gives to us, as he lives in us through his Holy Spirit, will never end.