As millions prepare to celebrate Christmas Day, Bishop of Durham, the Rt Rev Dr Tom Wright, and the Roman Catholic Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle, the Rt Rev Kevin Dunn, give a spiritual perspective of the festive season

The Bishop of Durham, Rt Rev Dr Tom Wright

"The actor doesn't mind whether he's playing the hero or the villain, as long as his name is up in lights. Or so my acting friends tell me.

That's why I wasn't too worried when I saw all the fuss about Madame Tussaud's spoof Nativity Scene with the Beckhams playing Joseph and Mary and a very odd assortment of celebrities playing the Shepherds and Wise Men - with Kylie Minogue as the angel (or was she a fairy?)

It's still the same story, the story we can't get out of our bloodstream, the story we know so well and understand so little. Jesus remains the hero. No baby, no story.

All right, it's true that lots of people don't know the story. I heard the other day of a schoolboy who, when the teacher told the class about Christmas, asked why they gave the baby a swear-word for his name.

That's where some parts of our culture have got to. But millions still know in their bones the old tale of Mary and Joseph and the strange little child who haunts the imagination of the world. Sing them the first line of Away in a Manger and they'll sing you the next one. Ask them what the Wise Men brought as gifts and they'll probably get at least two out of three.

And, no, I don't mind the story being told in different, perhaps even bizarre, forms. Go to any primary school Nativity play, all muddle and glory. And, after all, we have Christingle services, don't we?

Whoever suggested that Jesus was like an orange with a candle stuck in it? Let's enjoy the bizarre imagery. Any signpost that points to Jesus, however odd, is worth having. Even when people really are mocking Christianity - and I don't think Madame Tussaud's really intended to do that - it's still Christianity they are mocking.

Painting a rude face on the signpost doesn't stop it pointing in the right direction. Jesus can take it. If he doesn't mind, why should we?

What I do mind is people who would pride themselves on not recognising Victoria Beckham if she walked up and kissed them, people who not only know all the words of all the carols but the `proper' way of singing all the tunes, and who then fail to take seriously the real meaning of the story.

The Bible itself is quite clear about this, but it is the churches themselves, alas, not the shops and the waxworks museums, who have hushed it all up. In one of the most famous readings at carol services (the one that ends `wonderful counsellor, mighty God' and so on), we normally miss out three verses in the middle; and they are verses for our time, verses for a world that knows how to make war but has forgotten how to make peace, verses which speak of God burning up weapons of war and bloodstained battle-uniform, all because of the child who is to be born.

It's not so easy to doctor the Nativity stories themselves. We can't take Herod out of Matthew's Christmas story, or Caesar Augustus out of Luke's. But we can, and regularly do, ignore the point the writers are making.

Jesus is the King of the Jews, and the true Lord of the whole world. He isn't only Lord of our hearts, of the `religious' bits of our lives. It's easy to make a fuss about `political correctness' and to miss the real political meaning of Christmas.

Jesus is the world's rightful sovereign, and calls all other authorities to account."

Bishop Kevin Dunn, Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle

Christmas is the celebration of the birth Jesus Christ. The Gospels tell us that Joseph set out from the town of Nazareth in Galilee and travelled up to Judea, to the town of David called Bethlehem, with Mary his betrothed, who was with child.

While they were there the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to a son, her first born. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger because there was no room at the inn.

All over the country this simple story has been acted out by small children in many nativity plays. Plays that are filled with joy and laughter as parents strain to catch sight of their children taking on the role of Mary and Joseph, finding no room at the inn.

The shepherds hearing the good news of the angels, "do not be afraid, today a saviour has been born to you, he is Christ the Lord. Peace on earth and good will to all people."

All the nativity plays end with a procession of the three Kings following the star, bringing gold, frankincense and myrrh, each symbolic gift signifying who this child is, gold for a King, frankincense for his divinity and myrrh because he would die on the cross for us.

The plays are usually delightfully chaotic, especially when the words and actions do not go according to plan! This can be the same in our own lives when things do not go according to plan.

At times we can laugh at our mistakes but there are times when plans go awry that result in tragic consequences.

God has a plan for our world, for you and for me. At Christmas we celebrate his plan in sending his Son into our world so that each one of us can share his life. He became human so that we may share in the divinity of God. His message is one of peace and good will to all people. He came that we may have life, and have it to the full.

Sadly, this plan of God would seem to be going wrong. We are aware in our world of war, violence, hunger and disease. Over the past year we have seen horrific images of families displaced and driven from their homes; of prisoners being abused and ill treated. We know and see the plight of refugees: bewildered, frightened, hungry and dispossessed. We see innocent civilians caught up in the horrors of war.

But God's plan is still on course. It is a plan based and founded on love, the love that is seen and expressed in the countless men and women who unselfishly work and strive for peace and justice in our world.

Jesus is born again in their lives. He is born again in the carers of our society. He is born again in those who look after the sick and elderly; those who work tirelessly for community development and create the conditions for all peoples, no matter their faith, race or culture, to live together in peace and harmony. He is born again in mothers and fathers who nurture their children and go to extraordinary sacrifices to give them life. He is born again in the lives of our soldiers who are working for peace.

God's plan is working out in our lives when he lovingly encourages us to leave behind the old ways and set out on the path of life. This Christmas, make space for your family and friends. Be mindful of those who, like Mary and Joseph, are far from home and for those who cannot find room in the inn.

A happy and holy Christmas to you and your families and may the peace of the Child Jesus be in your hearts this Christmas and in the year to come.