THE Rev Pat Allerton shot to fame in lockdown as the The Portable Priest.
Videos of him cycling the streets with speakers on his bike, encouraging people to join him in song and prayer, went viral on Facebook.
Vicar at St Peter’s Church in Notting Hill, West London, Pat stopped outside care homes, prisons and hospitals to spread cheer and built up a huge social media following.
Today he pens a special Christmas message for The Sun, reminding us, before we tuck into our turkey, what Christmas is all about.
I HAD a very “proud dad” moment recently when our 12-month-old daughter, on demand, pointed straight at baby Jesus in her new book’s nativity scene.
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Prodigy, I thought. Genius, obviously. The fact that she pointed at a bearded shepherd with grey hair the next time we tried it is neither here nor there.
But it did remind me, once again, of what Christmas is really all about.
Because as much as I love the food (and I really do love food), as fun as the parties and Christmas jumpers are, as beautiful as the music, lights and decorations can be — at the end of the day, Christmas is nothing without Christ.
After all, in the Christmas story, everything points to him.
The universe points to him for a start. The wise men followed a star!
Doesn’t it blow your mind sometimes, the beauty and wonder of creation? Galaxies and sunsets, mountains, wildlife and seas.
And let’s just remind ourselves that we are currently on a rock, spinning round the sun, hurtling through space while simultaneously contemplating how long the turkey needs and whether we’ve got enough cranberry sauce.
I mean, life is a miracle. And the chances of life? Even more so.
Scientists have worked out that the four fundamental forces of the universe were determined less than one millionth of a second after the big bang.
Simply put, I believe creation suggests a creator and, at Christmas, the universe points to Jesus.
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Second, the spiritual realm points to him. Many people today describe themselves as “spiritual, but not religious”. They’re open to realities we can’t see or touch.
Kylie Minogue is one such person. How do I know? Because I asked her.
Having spotted her in a bar in London, I boldly approached, good news to share. I asked her if she believed in God, to which she replied: “I believe in spirituality. That we’re all spiritual.”
I then said: “Cool, because Jesus loves you”, before getting shy and walking away.
But spiritual people might talk about energy, practise yoga or even seek to commune with angels.
Which is interesting, because what do we see Christmas? Angels everywhere.
They’re appearing to shepherds, speaking in dreams and, most importantly, announcing God’s plan to a humble teenage girl.
And what’s the message they share, these spiritual beings of light? They all point to Jesus Christ.
Third, the Bible points to him. Now, you might say, “Well, of course it does, it’s propaganda!” Fair point.
But let me ask, can you predict the future? Neither can I. And yet the Bible does, time and again.
In fact, Jesus fulfilled more than 300 prophecies in his short life.
Things written hundreds of years before, like he would be born in Bethlehem, he would be betrayed by a friend, he would be crucified etc.
The Bible is a collection of books and every one of them points to Jesus.
Finally, and perhaps most surprisingly, I believe our own hearts point to him.
You see, I wonder if part of the reason we love Christmas is that, deep down, something inside us longs for it all to be true.
We long for life to have meaning and purpose. We would love to find hope and peace.
We long for there to be a God who might welcome and accept us, forgive and embrace us, and bring us all together as one.
Well, in the coming of this baby, this “saviour” as the angels call him, it is claimed such longings are truly met. Shepherds celebrate.
Wise men worship. People of all kinds are touched. And it’s still happening today.
Now, I can’t speak for every Christian, but I can speak for myself.
And all I’d say is that in the 26 years I have been following Jesus Christ, he has brought me a level of peace and joy I had never known before, and an experience of God’s love I had never thought possible. And he can do the same for you.
