Christmas (and the other holy days surrounding it) invites us to reflectively express ourselves to the Lord and to one another in verse, prayer, and song. I like to imagine characters from the first Christmas in my thoughts and prayers. Here’s a short verse about the last “nice” person who turned the Holy Family away, leaving them homeless but not hopeless.

10 Minutes B.C. (or Common Era, if you prefer)

Knock, knock, knock…knock
Hey now! What the…?
Don’t you know it’s twelve o’clock?

What’s that…?
No, my house is not an inn,
(Though, it could be; it’s big enough.
My father built it by hand,
While mother cheered him on.)
But what do you Galileans know about building things?

Anyway, so sorry to disappoint you
and your sweet wife…
(Who I must admit doesn’t look well.)

Look…, a little outside of town is a nice place,
It’s called the “Herod Inn”.
Here’s how you get there…
See that pile of stones? It’s a shelter for animals.
When you get to the shelter, go left,
And “Herod’s” will be right in front of you.
You’ll be there in ten minutes.
You can’t miss it…
Good night!