by Fr. Bernardino Andrade
(bernardinodandrade@gmail.com)
A «RUINED» CHRISTMAS SERMON
The Pastor of a Church in New York, conscious of his responsibility as a presider of a good Liturgy, spent hours preparing what he considered should be a good sermon for the Midnight Christmas Mass. He read about the birth of Jesus, he took notes and rehearsed the sermon he was supposed to deliver. A Christmas play, mobilizing a group of children and young people, was very well prepared to act after the reading of the Gospel, right before the sermon. It was a very inclusive church where everyone would have a chance to participate.
To emphasize inclusion, they decided to invite Tom to act as a shepherd. Tom was a very special 17-year-old boy with learning difficulties because of his down syndrome condition. After trying a few rehearsals, there was a little frustration due the difficulty Tom had to learn a very simple role as a shepherd. Then they decided to change roles. Maybe Tom would be a good innkeeper. Tom was open to anything as long as he could be part of the play.
Great. After the first try, it was easy to decide that Tom would be the perfect «actor» to act as an innkeeper. The only thing he had to do was to wait in front of the altar, put his hands on his hips, look tough, and when Joseph and Mary came asking for shelter he would say: «No room for you at the Inn».
It took some time and lots of work but there was no doubt that Tom was ready. Even at the last minute they were whispering: «Don’t forget Tom… put your hands over your hips, look tough and say: – there is no room for you at the Inn. Are you ready?
– Yyyyes. I am… am ready».
The moment came. Joseph and Mary walked slowly towards the altar. Tom was standing there. They approached Tom and asked for a place to spend the night. Besides, Mary was ready to give birth to her baby. Both looked very tired. But Tom did as he had been trained to do: He put his hands over his hips, looked tough and yelled in a loud voice:
«There is no room for you at the Inn! ».
Joseph and Mary did as they have been trained to do too. They looked very sad, turned around and started walking towards the front door. Just a few seconds after they left, Tom started crying, with tears rolling down his face, and ran after them and repeated a few times: «Wait… wait… you can stay at my house… You can stay at my house. Please, don’t go»!
At that moment, the pastor approached the microphone and with tears in his eyes, said:
«I couldn´t make a better sermon than the one that was just done by Tom. «Please Jesus stay at my house»…. «Merry Christmas».