OPEN THE DOOR TO THE MESSAGE OF GOD

A Christmas reflection from Bishop Mark

A detail of a stained-glass window from St. Edward's Church in Seattle shows Jesus, Mary and Joseph on their flight into Egypt. (OSV News illustration/Crosiers) (Courtesy photo of Crosiers)

Peace be with you. 

I like to tell the story of the boy who wanted to be Saint Joseph in his school Christmas pageant but he was assigned “Innkeeper No. 3.” He was upset but was encouraged to be the best innkeeper he could be. When the day arrived, he awaited his turn as both Innkeeper No. 1 and Innkeeper No. 2 flawlessly delivered their lines when asked by Joseph, “Is there any room in the inn?” They each replied, “No, there is no room in the inn!” Joseph and Mary approached and asked the boy if there was any room and he replied, “Sure, there is plenty of room, come on in.” Well the story I’m told was that Joseph was chosen for a reason, so he looked in the door and said, “This place is a dump, we’re going to the stable.”

Our young hero, who wanted to make things better in the world, thought to himself, of course there should be room in the inn for the Holy Family, and decided to change the script. Not a bad gesture on his part. I would like to change the script myself, not only for Mary and Joseph back in the day, but for opening doors that are shut in our world today to the message of the God who sent His Son into the world so that we might think in new ways and be saved.

Does it feel to you, regardless of political agenda, that there is a harshness in our world today? Does it feel that there is a license now to shut our doors on those who ask us for room? Perhaps, instead of opening our hearts to the needy we feel justified in our own privacy. “Sorry,” we are saying, “I am already charitable enough, there is no more room in my thoughts and time for more.”

God’s plan was for His Son to be born among the poor and the outcasts, and to be worshipped first by shepherds, when the world thought that any Messiah would descend from on high with armies to wreak vengeance. He came as a vulnerable baby entrusted to his parents in the same way that all of us are born. He grew up always conscious of those on the margins and the outcasts, the defender of the lepers and the sinners, and those judged unclean. 

I judge myself here, harsher than I challenge any who read this. I know that when I am challenged, I can get defensive. I know that when I am asked for more, I can procrastinate. I know that when I am criticized, I can forget to seek the part of it that is true. I know that the more I pray, the more God asks of me and I can hesitate to open that door to my heart and hide behind words that run together to avoid the screaming (piercing? accusing? challenging?) silence.

I also know that when I hear and follow God’s will in my heart, and pray, I am at peace. I know that I get more satisfaction giving to others than providing for myself. I know that when I am generous with opening my door to others, God’s graces flood into my life. And I know that healing the harshness of our world, begins with me listening, in order to understand and learn from those who knock.

There are many challenges to come in my time as Bishop of Albany. Help me discover the reasons the Church has placed me here with you. Together, we can reveal to the world that Jesus, born of Mary in a stable, is everything we seek in the depths of our souls, and all we need in the harshness of our winter, to bring on the spring of healing.

Merry Christmas. I am excited to be with you in 2026 and beyond.

— Bishop Mark O’Connell