The Happy Prince written by Oscar Wilde is a short story that captures very well the spirit of Christmas. It tells the story of a magnificent golden statue of a young prince that stands high above a city.
When the Prince was alive, he lived a sheltered life of luxury within the palace walls and never saw human suffering. After his death, his statue is placed on a tall column and from this vantage point he finally witnesses the poverty, misery and injustice endured by his people.
A little swallow, on his way to Egypt for the winter, stops to rest at the statue’s feet. The prince persuades the Swallow to stay and helps him to relieve the townspeople’s suffering. He asks the bird to little by little pluck the jewels and gold leaf from his body and deliver them to those in need. As the Prince gives away all he has, his statue becomes dull and bare, while all the time the swallow grows increasingly devoted to him and to the mission he has been given.
When winter arrives the swallow does not fly away or neglect his duty. He is, unfortunately, unable to survive the cold and dies at the prince’s feet. In his sorrow, the Prince’s leaden heart breaks in two. Declared ugly and useless by the city council, the statue is melted down and the broken leaden heart and the lifeless body of the swallow are thrown on the rubbish heap.
In heaven God instructs one of his angels to bring him the two most precious things in the city and the angel brings back to him the broken heart and the dead bird. “You have chosen rightly,” said God, “for in my garden of Paradise this little bird shall sing for evermore and in my city of gold the Happy Prince shall praise me”.
This story captures the essence of Christian love: sacrificial giving without counting the cost. The Good News we celebrate today is that God has modelled this sacrificial love for us. He has entered our world, not as a distant ruler cloaked in majesty, but as a newborn child lying in a manger, crying like any other infant, vulnerable and dependent on human care.
We celebrate this divine gift because it opens for us the way to eternal life. Jesus’ birth is not simply a beautiful story from long ago; it is God’s embrace of our suffering, our weakness, our brokenness. He identifies with the poor, the lowly shepherds who first heard the angels’ song, and He remains present in all who suffer and struggle today.
And yet we know that the world continues to be fractured by poverty, inequality, war, violence and indifference to the suffering of others. We see a world where a tiny minority controls an overwhelming share of wealth, while billions struggle for basic necessities. According to global wealth data, the top 5% of the world’s population own around two thirds of the global wealth, while the bottom 50% owns just about 2% of its resources.
This is not a statistic to be dismissed easily. It reflects a moral and spiritual crisis. When so few hold so much and so many have so little, we see the consequences in every aspect of life, in families struggling to pay for food, electricity, and healthcare and in societies racked by conflict and tension fostered by injustice and exclusion.
We have also seen, in recent times, how political leaders of powerful nations dismiss the real struggles of ordinary people, telling them they are imagining the crisis of affordability while millions go without health care or the ability to pay their bills. This kind of indifference contradicts the very Gospel, the good news that we celebrate today.
Christ was born not to the wealthy or powerful, but to Mary and Joseph, humble servants, and was first worshiped by shepherds, ordinary people on the margins. He chose poverty, identified with the weakest and taught us that true greatness in God’s kingdom is found in service, not in dominance.
This truth, the self-giving of Christ that leads us to self-giving lives, must guide us not only today, but far beyond when the Christmas decorations are put away and the last carol is sung. The spirit of Christmas is not just for a season but is a way of life. It is a call to be an instrument of God’s peace, a channel of God’s compassion and a voice for those who have none.
As we reflect on the Word made flesh, let us ask: How can we, in our families and communities, in our places of work and learning, mirror the generous heart of Christ? How can we reach out to the poor, the lonely, the oppressed? How can we, like the Happy Prince and his loyal Swallow, give of ourselves, our time, our effort and our compassion, so that others might taste the warmth of God’s love?
Christ has come. He has brought God’s light into our darkness and hope into our despair. Let the joy of this day spur us to greater generosity and deeper solidarity with all God’s children, especially those on the margins. For in giving as Christ gave, we receive the true joy of Christmas that lasts forever.
+ Bishop Michael Router
Auxiliary Bishop of Armagh