..my Christmas arrived 6wks early this year, in Class 5&6 of St Benedict’s Primary School; they had been interviewing each other in pairs for a job..as a follower of Jesus
..I watched & listened intently & proudly to some deep searching questions & real live answers..then they wanted to interview me..Daisey & Ellie interviewed me for perhaps 20 mins in front of the class & two teachers..one question was “if you saw a person on the floor crying, what would you do?” & tonight if you saw a baby in a manger crying what would you do?” another question “will you help us [& will you help us here tonight ] to grow in faith & build up the body of Jesus?..& they told me at the end I had got the job..
& so have you..
..which is why you’ve come here to this Church tonight..not to be given a tick in a box in a parish attendance register, some of you for first time since last Christmas, but to be welcomed home with great joy, & given the job title “a follower of Jesus”..
in same classroom I noticed on a girls desk a beautiful new book given her by her aunt
..it is called “the boy the mole the fox & the horse”
each character reflects one of us here at this manger tonight..
the boy is full of questions ; the mole is greedy for cake [..& tonight Christmas cake ];
the fox is mainly silent & wary because he’s been hurt by life; & the horse is the biggest thing they have ever encountered  [like the baby in our manger ; God made man ] & also the gentlest..
 
three phrases from the book as we come to the manger, as the real you meets the real Jesus, perhaps for the first time..
 
“..what’s the bravest thing you have ever said?” asked the boy “help” said the horse..
                                                                                                               ; Lord have mercy
“..sometimes I feel lost” said the boy “me too” said the mole;”but we love you, & love brings you home..”                                                                                                                                                                     ; Christ have mercy
“..so you know all about me?” asked the boy “yes” said the horse “..& you still love me?” asked the boy ..”we love you all the more” said the horse..                                                                                              ; Lord have mercy
May Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, & bring us to everlasting life.
Amen.
 
 
..on normal weekend in our 2 local Churches, Gilling & here, we muster a congregation of perhaps 110 people; at Christmas this rises to over 500 & that includes you..a blessing to have each of you here..in St Benedict’s PS, a hive of outstanding Catholic spirituality believe me, of 65 children perhaps 5 come here to this stable of a weekend..& in School groups l lead on 48hr retreats at Abbey for Yr 7 right up to Yr 13 of 55 who may come, perhaps 4 or 5 go to Church regularly..however when/ if you listen to their struggles & their questionsdoubts in faith by gum are they practising Catholics!..rarely see inside of a Church yet fine front line followers of Jesus..& perhaps most of you here feel a sense of being an outsider, a migrant..well be glad as you find yourselves, find yourselves, in real company, in very good company, alongside a boy a mole a fox & a horse..& alongside 2 migrants now grown to 3 migrants; Mary Joseph & a 24min old baby..& a motley crew of our fellow outsiders labelled shepherds..& perhaps that is why we come to this manger tonight, beloved insiders &outsiders, different on our journey into gradually encountering God in small precious ways..as in email of last wk “Dear Fr Bede; we were wondering if there is someone who could use a Christmas dinner, who might otherwise be alone; we  have a spare seat at our table.”a breath of fresh air, the warmth breath of Holy Spirit who breathed on Mary 9 months ago giving her the courage & grace to say “yes” to invitation to an encounter, & through her, & eventually through her Son, an invitation to you & I to sit at this table & share a Christmas meal of a lifetime..so different in attitude to the gruff  innkeepers of Bethlehem & of our faith & village community..in Tony Jordans epic BBC production of 2010 Jesus of Nazareth we see an exhausted ashamed Joseph arriving in Bethlehem pulling donkey; on it his despised ex-wife heavily pregnant..she was once an insider but no longer, now disowned shameful she was taken by angry & reluctant Joseph after a plea from her once proud father, begging Joseph to take her with him, & to leave her, if need be, to her own devices in Bethlehem, to save her from being stoned to death by outraged squeaky clean insiders of Nazareth..they arrive down teeming streets at his cousins house & he knocks; she opens door, her face lights up in utter joy with a hug of a lifetime & then over his shoulder she sees Mary..her face changes, curls up her lip & says coldly “but not with her!”..”no room at the inn” “as long as you live under our roof, you will do what your Mum & I tell you!” “Lord I am not worthy to have you under my roof but only say the word & I shall be healed”..& the boy, full of questions, becomes the fox silent & wary because, like Joseph, he’s been hurt by life..& story moves on & into a stable where Mary starts to have her baby; she writhes in agony crying to Joseph for help, her hand stretched out as it had been throughout journey, & where Joseph has stubbornly refused it..he runs out into bustling main street in panic..he now the one to plead,but no one wants to know..a town of insiders, going about their business & afraid of kickback  of responding to a plea for the spare seat at their table..eventually one passer-by responds, a prostitute, a fellow outsider ; she comes into stable & goes into action, comforting Mary whilst ordering Joseph to wise up & get cracking..as Marys pain worsens he sits in a corner..as boy in book whispered “I realised why we are here” “for cake?” asked the mole “to love” said the boy “& to be loved” said the horse..& at that moment, the star arrives & stops above the stable, above this Church..the light beams into the half light & a crescendo of screams from Mary coincides with the ingresss of light from star, as a still hesitant Joseph timidly creeps forward..he takes her hand, as the two become one again one body “to have & to hold from this day forward..” a grip to die for & Jesus is born..the light of the world the Son of God..the greatest story ever told & lived by 4 outsiders, soon to be visited by a motley crew of fellow outsiders shepherds..& news eventually taken to the squeaky clean insiders, who thought they were coming for an annual Christmas Mass with a warm story..unaware until now why it is news of great great joy..finally heard &  understood & life changing..who perhaps came as a mole, greedy for cake..spiritual food & will leave this meal like the boy, full of questions I’ve never really had the courage to ask before, or as from now on, like the horse, the gentlest of insiders or outsiders..or like the fox, finding my voice as a real follower of Jesus, less silent & less wary because I can finally see a way out from the hurt & wounds I have carried all these years..”we love you all the more”..& I leave you with the mole, who deserves to have the last word on this remarkable night of story & truth..“I think everybody is just trying to get home” said the mole..home to this manger, where you will always belong..home to your home where innkeepers & shepherds from this night forward are given parity of esteem..it is the one & only saving qualification for gaining entry to our eventual home in heaven..we arrive together.. & with your DNA & mine on the straw..
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 [ Christmas Midnight Mass Lk 2;1-14]