What Barn Cats Can Teach Us About Christmas
- brookmcbride
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
Note: please read the note at the bottom of this article…to learn more about what the manger was really like Thank you Dr. Sam Tsang!
Cyndy woke me up the other night with a hearty and long laugh. Grumpily, I mumbled something about it being 2:30 in the morning. She elbowed me again and said with an apologetic tone, "I know, I'm sorry, but you’ve got to see this!"
I sat up in bed, bristling like a grinch and secretly determined not to crack a smile. As soon as I saw what all the fuss was about, I, too, burst into laughter. It was so funny—and kind of righteous. It was a picture of cats sitting on computer servers with this headline: STRAY CATS SHUTDOWN BITCOIN MINING FACILITY!
The article read:
"In a bizarre twist of fate, a Bitcoin mining facility became an unexpected sanctuary for stray cats. Dozens of feline adventurers leapt across humming supercomputers, curled up in racks, and claimed server rooms as their personal playgrounds, much to the horror of engineers and investors. The cats’ playful antics slowed operations and caused millions in damages, yet somehow brought a surreal charm to an otherwise sterile high-tech environment. Videos of the cats napping atop mining rigs went viral, turning the facility into a strange intersection of chaos, comedy, and cuteness. While the financial loss was real, the story became a whimsical reminder of nature asserting itself in the unlikeliest places.”
I checked this story on Snopes and, sadly, it’s not true. But for some reason, I thought to myself that it ought to be true. Who can’t love a story where cats can take down the great god of technological wonder? And who can’t understand those cats? We all crave a warm place to rejuvenate. These cats were doing what any of us would do on a cold day in Mongolia in December: get to a warm place!
Later that day, I found myself pondering another wonderful story: our Christmas story of Mary and Joseph. They must have felt just a little bit like those stray cats.
They landed in Joseph’s hometown, Bethlehem, essentially because of King Herod’s need to control people’s lives through a census. Traveling five days or more on foot over treacherous territory must have been exhausting. And yet, when they finally arrive, no one seems to want to take them in. I’m sure Joseph was hoping one of his extended family members would surely put them up. But they don't. (Did this have anything to do with the fact that Joseph and Mary weren’t married yet?)
After knocking on door after door, they finally end up in a barn behind one of the inns. It is here that these two “stray cats” (soon to be three) find warmth and rest. And it is here, amidst the cattle, sheep, donkeys, and doves (and maybe even a few cats), that the Christ child is born.
Can you believe it? The Savior of the World, the Prince of Peace, is born in a manger—a barn. What a mess!
Poor Mary and Joseph. In some ways, this is such a tragic story. But in other ways, it gives me such hope! Why?
I think for me, it’s because the messy predicament Mary and Joseph are in reminds me of some of the messy predicaments I’ve been in, and may still be in! Sometimes we fall into the belief that God only comes to people who have it all together, but that’s simply not the case. The Christmas story reminds us of that: God doesn’t wait for us to “get it all together” before entering our lives. God enters our lives in whatever mess we are in right now!
One of my favorite books is Messy Spirituality by a former youth pastor named Mike Yaconelli. In that book, Mike writes this:
“For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to be a godly person. Yet when I look at the yesterdays of my life, what I see, mostly, is a broken, irregular path littered with mistakes and failure... Most of the moments of my life seem hopelessly tangled in a web of obligations and distractions... Right now the only consistency in my life is my inconsistency. Who I want to be and who I am are not very close together... I know what the consensus would be: ‘Mike was a mess.’”
Well, Mike, you’re not the only one! And that’s why I love this Christmas story! It reminds me that I don’t have to wait for that perfect time in my life for God to come. I just need to get my messy self to the manger and bend my knee.
Your friend and pastor, feeling blessed in the mess, Brook
PS: This just in from Dr Sam Tsang…a wonderful NT scholar and a part of our Bear Creek UMC family. I share this in all humility. Because my interpretation of the manger scene comes from my childhood experiences and our cultural understanding of Luke’s christmas story! Here’s what recent scholarship has revealed about the manger and what it was and wasn’t! Thanks Sam! A great read!
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