“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.”

 Luke 1:34-35

We're delighted to bring you a very special audio production of A Christmas Carol to warm your festivities over the next week, plus a collection of programmes prepared by Simon Rose and others for the run up to the new year. Please enjoy!

Thank you for keeping in touch with Share Radio over the past year: we are, of course, aware that our streamed output is somewhat different from a year ago, following the merger of Share Music into Share Radio. However we remain focused on sharing ideas about money, and intent on encouraging a more egalitarian form of capitalism for the future.

Finally, a rather different perspective for the Christmas story. Christians believe that it was God who walked on earth in the form of Jesus - that's what ‘Emmanuel’ means. Our thought piece ‘Love in Creation’ puts it in context, and it’s why the hymn ‘Let all mortal flesh keep silence’ has a special resonance at this time of year: here's the text and an instrumental version by musicians from the band Iona:

Let all mortal flesh keep silence,

And with fear and trembling stand;

Ponder nothing earthly-minded,

For with blessing in his hand,

Christ our God to earth descendeth,

Our full homage to demand.

 

King of kings, yet born of Mary,

As of old on earth he stood,

Lord of lords, in human vesture,

In the body and the blood;

He will give to all the faithful

His own self for heavenly food.

 

At his feet the six-winged seraph,

Cherubim, with sleepless eye,

Veil their faces to the presence,

As with ceaseless voice they cry:

Alleluia, Alleluia,

Alleluia, Lord Most High!

But it didn't finish there.

During the next 33 years, Jesus showed us how to live in peace and love with each other, through his teaching and example. So here is the real message of Christmas, as written by Howard Thurman:

'When the song of the angels is stilled,

When the star in the sky is gone,

When the kings and princes are home,

When the shepherds are back with their flock,

The work of Christmas begins:

To find the lost,

To heal the broken,

To feed the hungry,

To release the prisoner,

To rebuild the nations,

To bring peace among people,

To make music in the heart.’

With best wishes for a very happy Christmas

Gavin Oldham OBE

Share Radio