The Gospel is the sort of passage priests hate to read aloud on Sunday mornings. All those hard-to-pronounce names, like Ituraea and Lysanias. And what does it matter who was tetrarch of these places like Abilene? Wherever that is.

It matters. Especially if you're someone who cares about power and authority. Try it again with a local, modern perspective. In the Third year of the presidency of Mary McAleese, Bertie Ahern & Mary Harney leading the FF-PD Government, Pope John Paul II sitting on the throne in Rome, the Word of God came to …. a run-down tenement, or a slum. Something like that. You get the picture. It was a scandal. This Word overlooked the ruling powers, both secular and religious, and went straight to the edges of acceptability-to the wilderness. The lesson was and is; if you want to understand how God works, look in unexpected places. Go to the margins.

So, by all means, send your cards, buy your presents, shop till you drop, confess “a few curses, maybe one or two lies, forgot to pray – that's all, Father” as you balance your conscience with your shopping bags and hangover. Just don't expect God to operate predictably in your life. Know that “the One who began this good work in you will see that it is finished.” (2nd reading). You were expecting maybe just an innocent baby rather than someone who wants you to change your life?

(Comments to Tom at stmarysrcathlone@oceanfree.net )