We have so many amazing pastors, priests, reverends and theologians among our friends in European Forum of LGBTI+ Christian Groups. We would like to use their competence and experience by inviting them to share a short reflection.

So here is a short Christmas reflection fby Kerstin Söderblom from Germany:

Jesus birth was complicated and his biological origins were disputed. According to the evangelists Luke and Matthew, his mother was the underage and not married Mary from Nazareth. Her partner was the carpenter Joseph. But Joseph was not Jesus' biological father. When he heard of Mary's pregnancy, he wanted to leave her. It was only when the Angel Gabriel appeared to Joseph in a dream and explained everything to him (Luke 1:35) that Joseph calmed down and stayed with Mary.

Jesus was born in a manger in a stable in Bethlehem because Mary and Joseph had to travel to Bethlehem for a census in their home town (Luke 2, 1-6). They did not have a place to stay. Joseph became the social father of Jesus. And God was somehow part of the family. As the son of God and the adopted son of Joseph, Jesus' birth and childhood were endangered. The family feared King Herod's soldiers, who wanted to murder Jesus, because of his assumed power and authority.

Joseph and Mary fled to Egypt with the newborn child on a donkey. Jesus grew up in a patchwork family. He was a person of color, a Jew, a poor refugee. And God, the mysterious figure beyond images, beyond gender identities, and beyond any human categories and boxes belonged to the family. The Holy Family queered any normative family concepts. Xmas is a queer thing indeed, and invites each and every one of us to celebrate Xmas joyfully and proudly - regardless of the color of skin, ethnicity, age, gender identity, disability and sexual orientation.

I finish my thoughts with a poem that I wrote a couple of years ago.

Holy Night
Light in the darkness
On the way to a stable in Bethlehem
Shepherds, ox and donkey bear witness
Something special happened
Something different
Big things very small
Small things very big
Differently than thought
God becomes human in a child
Vulnerable and without power
Nevertheless powerful.

Change of perspectives
Beginning of something new
Beyond expectations
Beyond human logic
Beyond hierarchy.

Queering normality
Queering identity
Queering family concepts
Queering Xmas.

Merry Xmas to all of you!