David Cameron has just released his Christmas message, calling on us to mark the birth of Jesus and to remember those who are hungry or lonely at Christmas.
I find Cameron's message hard to stomach. David Cameron speaks of the meaning of Jesus even as his government wages class war on the poor and pursues endless war in the Middle East.
I do not claim to be a better Christian than David Cameron. I fail to live up to Jesus' teachings all the time. I sometimes struggle to understand Jesus' meaning. I do not assume that all my conclusions about Jesus are right.
This does not stop me expressing my revulsion when Jesus' name is invoked to back up a government whose policies are geared to promoting the short-term interests of the rich and powerful.
Let's have a look at Cameron's message. It begins with these words:
"If there is one thing people want at Christmas, it's the security of having their family around them and a home that is safe. But not everyone has that."
Cameron goes on to talk of those living in refugee camps. Are these are the same refugees who the UK government has been so reluctant to welcome? He then adds, "Throughout the United Kingdom, some will spend the festive period ill, homeless or alone."
Hunger and loneliness do not happen by chance but are due to inequality, capitalism and an individualist society. More people are hungry, more people are lonely, as a direct result of Cameron and Osborne's policies. Rough sleeping in the UK has gone up a whopping 55% since Cameron became Prime Minister.
Cameron goes on to pay tribute to nurses, volunteers and others who work to support "vulnerable people" at Christmas.
I am happy to pay tribute to those who support vulnerable people, as well as those working to change the situations that make them vulnerable. More such workers and volunteers are needed as Tory policies increase poverty and remove support from people in need.
The Prime Minister then praises the armed forces, saying "It is because they face danger that we have peace".
Cameron seems to think that peace is the absence of violence. UK armed forces are sent to fight in wars for commercial and strategic interests in which innocent people are routinely killed. War does not lead to peace any more than promiscuity leads to chastity.
The message talks of those who are "protecting our freedoms". We are very fortunate to have a great many freedoms in this country. We have them because our ancestors campaigned for them, not because the powerful graciously handed them down.
Referring to peace, the Prime Minister says:
"And that is what we mark today as we celebrate the birth of God's only son, Jesus Christ - the Prince of Peace. As a Christian country, we must remember what his birth represents: peace, mercy, goodwill and, above all, hope. I believe that we should also reflect on the fact that it is because of these important religious roots and Christian values that Britain has been such a successful home to people of all faiths and none."
Britain is not, and never has been, a Christian country. Jesus did not call for "Christian countries". He spoke of the Kingdom of God, in which "the first will be last and the last first". This is a challenge to all the kingdoms, powers and hierarchies of this world.
Jesus sided with the poor, called on the world to change its ways and was arrested after leading a protest in the Jerusalem Temple. He was executed by the Roman Empire with the collusion of religious leaders.
Most of today's politicians, had they been around at the time of Jesus, would have labelled him a dangerous extremist. Editorials in the Daily Mail would have demanded his crucifixion.
Jesus said, "To everyone who has will be given more; but anyone who has not will be deprived even of what he has." Jesus was aware of the inequality and injustice in his own society, but it sounds like an equally good description of the UK government's current policies.
My prayer at Christmas is that we will follow Jesus' call to look into our hearts and that we will reflect on how we contribute to both justice and injustice in the world. In the light of this, I pray that we will end our subservience to systems of exploitation and war and follow Jesus' example of resisting them.
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The above post appeared originally on Symon Hill's own blog site. Symon's new book, The Upside-Down Bible: What Jesus really said about money, sex and violence, has just been published by Darton, Longman and Todd.