"Now in those days, in the Fall of 2004, when the great American Empire was at war with Iraq, once known as Babylon, a decree went out from George W. Bush that the Constitution of the United States should be amended to ensure that marriage remained the exclusive right of a man and a woman. So gays and lesbians came from all over the country to the sanctuary states of Massachusetts and California to be registered for marriage. Joshua, a descendant from the Thompson Family, also went from his town of the Bronx in New York to the city of Boston in Massachusetts. He went to be registered with his partner, Mario, who was an illegal immigrant to the country from the land of South America. While they were there it came time for them to adopt a child and so they adopted an African American baby girl and gave her the name of Jessica, which means "saving grace" for she was to save her people from their sins. On that cold winter's night, the first night that they were together as a family, Joshua, Mario and Jessica could find no place they could afford to stay so they found lodging at a crowded homeless shelter on Pine Street. The beds had long since been filled and so the three of them huddled into the corner while Mario wrapped his only jacket around baby Jessica's cold little form.
"In that region there was a road crew working on the streets at night. When suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them and they were terrified. But the angel said, "do not be afraid, for I come to bring you good news of great joy for all the people; for to you is adopted this day in the city of Boston a Savior and she is to be the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find the baby girl wrapped in an old leather jacket lying in the arms of a man at the Pine Street Homeless Shelter.
"And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying 'Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth to all humankind!' Now when the angels had left them and gone into heaven and the faint glow of the street lights had returned, the road crew looked at one another and said 'let's go to Pine Street and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.' So they went with haste and found Mario and Joshua and the child lying in the corner of that homeless shelter. When they saw them, they made known what had been told them about this child and all the many homeless people who heard it were amazed. But Mario treasured all these words in his heart. The road crew returned to their job site glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen and for what had been told them."
The Rev. Will Burhans,Charlotte Congregational Church (UCC),
Charlotte, Vermont
Christmas, 2004