'A lesson to be learned from nativity play' by Fr Gary Waddington, Team Rector, St Wilfrid's Church, Harrogate
I’ve always enjoyed Nativity Plays and have watched many over the years.
But it’s often when they go a bit wrong that something important is often revealed.
Years ago, I saw a young boy decide that his part needed a few more lines than what his teacher had written.
Playing the innkeeper, he was meant just to say, “We have no room at the Inn.”
But when Mary and Joseph arrived, with perfect comedic timing, he opened the door, scowled, and yelled, “What do you want?
"I’m busy! We’re full! You should have booked sooner.”
Parents giggled, teachers looked panicked, but he wasn’t discouraged.
“You can go in the stable, but... you’ll still have to pay...”
And with that, he slammed the door in Mary and Joseph’s face, prompting gales of laughter from the audience and a look on his teacher’s face that said ‘the end of term just can’t come soon enough.’
Over the years, I’ve come to believe that small innkeeper taught an important lesson.
Are we too busy, too indifferent, too self-absorbed to truly respond to what Christmas is all about?
Are we so caught up with shopping and feasting, presents and turkey, tinsel and decorations that we have lost sight of Christmas' real meaning?
But it’s about the children, it’s about the family, it’s about what we can give – these are all phrases I’ve heard.
But they manage to miss the point.
I vividly remember a parishioner telling me that I really shouldn’t expect to see them in Church “because it’s Christmas and I’m busy.”
That was one of the few times I’ve been utterly speechless.
If you remove Christ from Christmas, little remains.
Perhaps that young boy in the school nativity taught something profound.
Can we make space for Jesus this Christmas or are we too busy, modern innkeepers, declaiming with shame that “there’s no room for you this year”?
God has given us an extraordinary gift: his Son.
Why not come and take some time to rediscover Jesus this year?
You won’t regret it. He’s waiting for you – what’s your answer?
By Fr Gary Waddington of St Wilfrid's Church, Harrogate