What is the central fact of Christianity - the very heart of this faith which we celebrate today? What is the wonder of wonders in this all-wonderful gospel of Jesus Christ? What would you venture to suggest as the heart and soul of this faith that has changed the course of human history, the face of civilization, and the personal lives of innumerable souls?

Think!

Is it “the fatherhood of God” which Jesus himself stressed so forcefully?

Is it the gracious movement of the Holy Spirit making real the living Christ as Comforter, Power-Giver, Guide?

Or, is it the cross? The outpouring of sacrificial love, the living out to the ultimate of Jesus’ own claim: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for a friend.”

For the Christian Church in the West, this has been the c…