Rev. Richard Coles on Christmas preaching: tradition, tenderness, and hope in a troubled world

Coles, the retired priest and former broadcaster, writes that preaching to once-a-year Christmas worshippers has taught him about faith and humanity in a deeply troubled world. He notes that he retired three years ago and will not be preaching this year after 20 years ordained, yet the annual season continues to test the balance between tradition and relevance.

During a recent shopping trip, Coles recounts, he asked a butcher, 'Sick of turkeys yet?' The butcher's response highlighted a shortage: 'Forty-two' turkeys this year, compared with about 150 a few years earlier. Coles says such anecdotes illustrate the pull of the everyday when shaping a sermon about meaning at Christmas. The challenge, he adds, is to find a message that speaks to people who visit church only once a year, without lecturing them or diluting the gospel. He repeats the old maxim about feeding the sheep, while acknowledging the temptation to overcomplicate or bore the congregation with a 'six points' outline. He notes that the message must stay close to the reason for the season, even as congregants' familiarity with church traditions and doctrine feels uncertain in the age of influencers and the online scroll.

Coles recalls his first Christmas sermon before training; he delivered about the star of Bethlehem and its possible ties to Micah and the Book of Numbers, then faced a stern rebuke from a clergy widow at the door who cried, 'Rubbish!' Such moments illustrate how Christmas sermons can miss the mark in unexpected ways, even as the gospel’s core message remains to feed the faithful and invite others in. He notes that the congregation’s familiarity with the church’s traditions may be as uncertain now as buying that whole turkey from the butcher.

Over the years, Coles says he has shifted toward valuing tradition and the lasting messages entrusted to him, even as he has moved away from turkey dinners toward rib of beef, goose, capon (if one can be found), or venison, as long as the feast remains in the spirit of Christmas rather than being a mere concession to nostalgia. He concedes that with age comes a stronger appreciation for those elements that endure, even as the cultural landscape shifts.

Coles recounts an experience aboard the Queen Mary 2, sailing from New York to Southampton, where a carol service in the ship’s grand lobby culminated in an unexpected moment. News broke of the Bondi Beach shootings, and the service’s tone shifted; the event was followed by the lighting of a Hanukkah candle, underscoring a message of peace on earth amid a divided world. In Coles’s telling, such moments illustrate how the Christmas season can accommodate a broader sense of shared humanity without sacrificing its core witness.

He also recalls a more intimate memory: a nativity scene once found an unlikely replacement in the churchyard as Jesus was swapped for a plastic velociraptor. Yet, he notes, people still come, year after year, to worship the mystery of God incarnate. The resilience of ritual, the continuity of tradition, and the stubborn hope embedded in the Nativity keep drawing worshippers back, even when the reasons feel elusive to them or to him.

For Coles, Christmas remains a time that tests and teaches. He says the season offers hope and grace in a world that often feels indifferent, and that the best preaching at Christmas may be the simplest: a clear, compassionate invitation to look beyond the day’s noise toward the enduring story at the heart of the season. If people come, he writes, they may find what they seek: a reminder that the birth of a child two millennia ago continues to speak to the challenges of today.