Mr. Speaker, it is not smooth on the back of a donkey. It is not comfortable.
They are making this journey to a place called Bethlehem. Members can imagine the thoughts they were thinking: “This is not how I imagined it would be, Joseph”; “This is not exactly what I had in mind when we started courting”; and “This is not really what I had hoped for, that I would be stuck on a donkey going to a town I do not know where I have to pay more taxes. That is the last thing I want to be doing when I am about to give birth”.
We forget about this part of the story, but it is very real. They must have been feeling overwhelmed and filled with questions, wondering how they were going to get out from under the burden they were carrying, and she is getting more uncomfortable.
We can see that back then, as it is now, it was a time of taxation. It was a burdensome time. It was a time of uncertainty for this young couple. They were feeling the pressure of the moment.
Can anyone imagine what Joseph must have been experiencing? His new bride is about to have her baby and he is going to a town he had not been to in a long time. He gets there and starts looking for a place to stay. He goes to the inn thinking that they finally made it. He knocks on the innkeeper's door and the innkeeper asks how he can help. Joseph says he needs a room; the innkeeper does not know how badly he needs a room because his bride is expecting. The innkeeper says there is no room in the inn for them. There was a housing crisis in Bethlehem. There were no rooms left. They had more people than they had rooms. People were wondering where they were going to go.
To complicate matters, Mary is with child, is about to deliver and Joseph is not a doctor. They have no place to stay and Joseph is scrambling. He asks the innkeeper if there is anything he could do; somebody needs to help him because his bride is about to deliver. Can members hear it and see it? We have to picture it. All of a sudden, the innkeeper says that he does not have much, but there is a stable out back, an old barn. It is not all that luxurious, but it at least gives them some cover for the night. Joseph says that would do; it was fine. Can members see it? Mary is waddling her way back to the barn and Joseph is panicking, saying he does not know what they are going to do and it was so strange.
Then sure enough, that incredible, unbelievable night happened in the midst of incredible uncertainty and great taxation. When they were shut out of one place after another and it looked like all the odds were against them, Mary brought forth the child. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and placed him in a feed-box. This promised king and prince of peace did not come by way of a palace, was not escorted by a private jet and did not come in a Maserati. He came humbly by way of a donkey, born in a barn out back. He was witnessed by cattle and surrounded by sheep dung. It did not smell good and it was not pretty, but something incredible came out of something very ordinary.
Mary and Joseph are incredible people through the lens of history, but they did not have large pedigrees, big names or wealth. They were common folk who had exceptional favour on their life and were chosen for an exceptional purpose. A lot of Canadians who find themselves in uncertain times and under the weight of great taxation can draw hope from this timeless story. No matter how ordinary they feel, how stacked the odds may be against them and how many times they may feel overlooked by society and forgotten by governments, there is someone who still knows their name and recognizes them. That is what the story of Christmas is all about, that we are not alone. He came to us.
I love this story because the first ones to be entrusted with the great news of the newborn Saviour and the babe in a manger were not the kings and rulers of the day. Guess who they were. It was the farmers and shepherds, those tending their flocks on the hillside at night with the stars brightly shining. The angels lit up and gave the message. They said they had great news of joy, good news for all people, peace on earth and goodwill to all men. Who was that news given to? It was not given to the rulers of the day. That news was entrusted to the common folks, the forgotten ones: the sheep herders and the farmers on the hillside.
That relates to us as parliamentarians. Some of the greatest news, some of the best ideas and some of the things that will help get our country back on the right track will be found at the tables of ordinary folks, from hearing their stories, listening to their challenges and understanding where they are coming from. If we took time to listen to more shepherds, farmers, truck drivers, oil workers, bucket carriers and waitresses, I think we would gain a lot more wisdom than spending time at fancy conferences, paying big money and listening to the so-called experts tell us things that obviously have misled us in so many ways. If we get back to the people who built this country, the common folks, I think there is wisdom there that can get us out of the malaise we are in now.
I have to wrap up this little story. I am down to five minutes. Oh my land, I have to bring it to a close.
We cannot leave it with the shepherds and the angels singing on high and Mary, Joseph and the baby. There were three others who came. They were called the wise men. I love this about the story. The three wise men, the Magi, came from afar, because wise people recognize that sometimes we have to go a long way to find the truth in life. Sometimes we have to be willing to step out of our comfort zone, come down from our high places and go to the lowly places to find some of the most precious gifts that can be found, and those three wise men were wise indeed.
They were wise enough to seek out the answers to what they were facing in an uncommon place, and they followed a star and it got them to the town of Bethlehem. They came bearing gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh.
When they showed up with the gold, the gold obviously spoke to financial resources. How can we reflect the wisdom of the wise men? Perhaps we can help the less fortunate with our resources. If we have been blessed with some goods, let us remember to give to good charities that do good things in our communities and make a difference in people's lives in a real way. Let us remember to bring our finances and our gold to the table. When we give to the least fortunate, we are actually giving it to the king, and it brings honour to him.
The second gift was frankincense. Frankincense was incense, which basically represented the prayers of the people throughout the ages. The good news about prayer is that prayer lives on. The prayers of our forefathers, our moms and our dads, and yes, the prayers of our parents and our own prayers, will live on. When we bring our prayers to God, they are a gift to him. The wise men brought that, and prayers for peace are going on right now all over the world, looking for peace. This time of year, we remember that a promise of peace is offered to us, and we can give that to others.
The last gift they brought was myrrh. What was myrrh symbolic of? Myrrh was the ointment they brought to heal wounds. It represented brokenness. The amazing thing about this king, which is different from other kings, is that the greatest gift we can honour him with is our vulnerabilities and our brokenness. I think a lot of Canadians and a lot of people throughout the world are hurting right now. Christmas can be a time of mixed things. It can be filled with a lot of joy, but for those who have recently lost loved ones, there is a lot of hurt, a lot of pain and a lot of questions.
My own family knows what that is like. I lost a brother during the Christmas season. He was 34 years old. He had three young daughters, and I watched my parents age overnight. He passed away on Boxing Day of 2007, and as a person of faith, I can tell members that Christmas is mixed for us. We have many joyful memories, and we have some painful ones, but I can tell members this: I am thankful for the greatest gift that was ever given at Christmas, because it helped my family. My prayer for everyone in this House is that it helps all of them to know that, yes, he came for everyone on every side of the House, regardless of partisanship or politics, because there are things bigger than politics in life.
That is the greatest gift that was ever given, because his name was to be called Emmanuel, which means “God is with us”. He is with us in uncertain times. He is with us in hurtful times. He is with us in painful times and in joyous times, and he promised to never leave us.
With that, to conclude, my wish for the House and for everyone in Canada who is hurting right now is that he may be their Emmanuel, their God, who is with them and with us. Merry Christmas to members and their families.