‘Bugger off Joseph’ said the Inn Keeper

I went to Christmas mass this morning with my parents. For the first time, in a very long time, I listened to the words of the homily.

The young vibrant priest spoke of the magnificence of the Universe and acknowledged the greatness of God and everything he has created. He then marvelled about God sending his only son in the form of this teeny tiny baby Jesus, helpless to the world, dependent entirely on the nurturing of his parents. Even though this is the almighty God, who created heaven and earth, capable of everything, he chose to send his son, a reflection of himself, as a human, to be nurtured by humans. He did this to serve as a reminder that we too are nurtured by God, for we are God.

For me this was a very special and timely reminder that no matter what your belief, your faith, your spirituality – we are all talking about the same thing. I went to church this morning, happily, because it makes my parents happy but I thought to myself I’ll spend the time being grateful and making lists in my head about the month ahead. So more or less tuning out to whatever the message of the service would be. The Universe/ God clearly had something else in mind. Though the words the priest used were somewhat different to the words that resonate with me, it was the same message I live by. It was a wonderful reminder to not dismiss others for their beliefs and practices of worshipping. I don’t claim to think my way is the highway but having said that I do seem to receive little reminders that all ways are equal.

The priest then continued to tell a story of a nativity play. In this play Joseph knocked 3 times on the inn door before the Inn Keeper opened it. Throwing the door open he unwaveringly said ‘Bugger off Joseph!’. Joseph was of course thrown by this as it certainly wasn’t in the script he had rehearsed. So he knocked again, thinking the other actor was clearly improvising. Alas, when the door open again the Inn Keeper forcefully pushed Joseph out of the way, to which Joseph pushed him back. Before they knew it the three Wise Men had arrived a week early and even the Angels were toing and froing.

The nativity play had turned into a brawl.

The Sister who had invited the Priest to the nativity play turned to him in horror and apologised for the behaviour of Joseph and the Inn Keeper and explained there had been a disagreement just before heading on stage. The Priest was laughing and said no apology was necessary. He reminded the Sister that life is not perfect. He asked ‘Do you think the real life nativity would have been free of cow dung, flies, exhausted and smelly Shepard, an overwhelmed Joseph and a screaming Mary?’. Probably not. It was a reminder that it is indeed these times – when life is exactly as it is – that God is always there.

I came away from mass grateful to have heard the messages. I was grateful to have been reminded of the unity of all faiths and that despite doing things differently from each other it’s all of the same thing. This is also a timely reminder for those who find Christmas a bit of a struggle. Whether it be family differences, expectations not met, sadness for an empty heart. Whatever it is, know that the Universe/ God has your back no matter what. He is always there, because he is not outside of us. He is us.

Happy birthday to all then.