Today, December 16, marks the start of "Las Posadas." A Mexican tradition, posadas means shelter and in an imitation of Mary and Joseph and their journey to Bethlehem and seeking shelter, people go from home to home singing Christmas carols and seeking a safe space; only to be refused and to eventually return to the church where they are welcomed in (don't you wish that really was so????) to a party with hot chocolate, cookies, candy and a pinata filled with even more goodies!
Searching for something new that would emphasize and offer a teachable moment for our call to be hospitable and welcoming to all, I held Las Posadas several times at congregations where I served as pastor. The first couple events, we had someone in the congregation who knew someone who provided a donkey to make it very realistic! Those were major successes as a group of people walking a donkey around a small Pennsylvania urban or suburban town was sure to draw attention. Once we got back to the church, the kids took turns riding the donkey, petting the donkey, taking photos of the donkey and feeding the donkey on occasion carrots, yet, mostly cookies and pretzels.
Of course, part of the event was choosing what kids would play the role of Mary and Joseph. We followed the ol' Biblical tradition of drawing names. Worked. I confess to one whiny child who "never got picked to do anything" (I wonder why....) I did drop the, "hey, it's Biblical...." quieted him right up.
One year in Erie, we planned the event and the woman who had the donkey bailed on us the day of. The chair of our children's ministry team suggested that I be the donkey (feel free to insert, well, you are an ass comment here) and made a very impressive donkey head piece with ears and a belt with a tail and then face-painted my nose black and the rest is Las Posadas history. I carried Mary on my shoulders and held Joseph's hand as we walked the neighborhood.
In the Las Posadas event, we'd approach a home and the resident would come to the door and we'd start to sing carols, one of the adults in the group would whisper to the homeowner to answer, when asked if they have any room for us, "No. Sorry. I have no room." Of course one woman just didn't get it. When Mary and Joseph asked, "Do you have any room for us?" She answered, "Sure, I do! You all can come in! There's a pot of coffee on, I can make some hot chocolate, I'll get out some cookies....don't worry about the donkey, you can tie him up to the railing." As she is going on and on, I the pastor, am waving my arms as if trying to land a plane, shaking my head vigorously and doing my best Nancy Reagan impersonation as I mouthed to her the words, "Just say no." ....it's hard to know how to be helpful sometimes....