On Christmas Eve 1988 I worshipped at the Cathedral Church
of Christ in Liverpool, England. I sat somewhere in the middle of what is the
second longest cathedral in the world that houses the largest pipe organ in the
United Kingdom. The organ lived up to its reputation while over a thousand
voices sang “O Come All Ye Faithful” and choirs and cantors and canons processed
down the center aisle with considerable pomp and circumstance. At the very end
of the liturgical parade, resplendent in garments of gold and crowned with
jeweled miter while leaning on an ornate shepherd’s crook, the bishop of
Liverpool walked with a small child in his arms. I don’t mean to speak poorly
of the church, and truth is December 24, 1988 might be my favorite Christmas
Eve ever, but I’m guessing the bishop of Liverpool carrying a borrowed baby is
not what Jesus meant by “whoever wants to be first must be last…” I’m just
saying.
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