Las Posadas & 59 Cents

Las Posadas is a nine-day celebration with origins in Spain in the 16th century, now celebrated chiefly in Mexico, Guatemala and parts of the Southwestern United States, beginning December 16 and ending December 24, during evenings

The tradition has a procession moving from home to home in the community with a ceremonial search for a place where the pregnant Mary can find accommodation, reflecting the story we tell at Christmas which leads us to the birth of Jesus in a stable. "Innkeepers" at the various homes invite them in, an act of hospitality.

In one of my congregations the music director organized a Las Posadas service for White Gift Sunday. It was quite dramatic with Mary and Joseph being rejected for various reasons by prospective hosts, but accepted elsewhere. It was very well done.

I thought about this festival when I heard news that six of ten provinces, most recently Ontario, have reinstated health care coverage for refugee claimants. http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2013/12/09/ontario_reinstates_basic_health_care_for_refugees.htmlThe benefits were pulled by the feds in what was a colossally mean-spirited effort to save money. How much money? Fifty nine cents for each Canadian. Fifty nine cents! How much did it cost each of us for the boondoggle of the G-8 Summit in Toronto, pegged at about a billion dollars?


Doctors and advocacy groups protested at the time and have continued to make noise. So did some churches. I appealed to our folk at St. Paul's, my previous congregation, to send 59 cents to the federal government as a symbolic gesture to protest what was happening. http://www.wondercafe.ca/discussion/politics/59-cents-refugee-healthcare

Jesus' family was at "no fixed address" when he was born. Then they were on the run, persecuted refugees fleeing a tyrant, ending up in a distant land. Somehow we must "connect the dots" between our biblical stories and our compassion for those who, like the Holy Family, need our hospitality.

Have you heard of Las Posadas? What about the 59 Cent Campaign? Are you glad that the health benefits have been restored? If so, send your Provincial Health Minister a note or email of thanks.