麻豆约拍

Good morning.聽 Christmas is soon upon us! A holiday, a Feast day; a family occasion. This week there鈥檚 so much to get done!

My memories of the week before Christmas are clear - planning the shopping trips, preparing the house for visitors, and getting together the figures for the crib, that tell the story of the birth of Jesus Christ in the stable at Bethlehem.

Our visitors were a funny lot. One I remember well was an old friend of the family who came round only for Christmas and funerals. He was a retired docker, rough, quiet, immensely kind. After a meal he would sit by the fire, missing nothing, loving the music and emptying all the bottles of whiskey.

I'm sure most families gather such friends at Christmas, people who turn up out of the dark blue yonder and stake a claim to a welcome and warmth. Sometimes they might be living lonely lives and feel it most keenly at Christmas.

I鈥檓 glad that our visitor came. He kept our feet on the ground and our conversation spicy.

Something similar happened at Bethlehem. The first people who turned up were the shepherds, a rough old lot who probably smelt.聽 They had a poor reputation and probably criminal records, if such things existed in those days.

They're the first to go into our family crib.

Lord God, as we prepare to welcome the feast day of your son鈥檚 birth, help us to open our hearts and our homes to all those who turn up, especially the awkward ones. They were the first to be called to your side. In fact you still have a soft spot for them. So should we. Give us the grace to welcome them and patience with their special ways. Amen.