God could have sent his Son

a million different ways.

But look at what he chose.

I'll tell you what it says.

 

It says open your hearts,

It says be generous and free,

Look outside your little box

That's what he's saying to you and me.

 

Mary was not respectable,

Pregnant before she was wed.

Open your hearts to unmarried mothers.

That's really what God said.

 

Joseph and Mary were homeless,

Knocking on doors for a bed.

Open your hearts to homeless strangers.

That's really what God said.

 

Jesus was worth an emperor's welcome

but he got the shepherds instead.

Open your hearts to the poor and despised.

That's really what God said.

 

If you weren't a Jew you were scum back then,

but Eastern men by a star were led.

Open your heart to strange-looking foreigners

That's really what God said.

 

The Holy Family ran to Egypt

If they hadn't, they'd have been dead.

Open your hearts to asylum seekers,

That's really what God said.

 

Opening our hearts isn't easy.

The unfamiliar fills us with dread.

But recognise common humanity.

That's really what God said

 

I realize I’m committing two 21^st century sins-

refusing to disbelieve in a personal God, and

having the temerity to believe I know what

He/She thinks. Disgraceful, I know. Mea culpa.

The pic of the iron man on Crosby beach here is

nothing to do with the poem but it's kind of festive 

and fun innit.