#LasallianLife
Who Was Not at the Inn?
December 22, 2023
A few weeks ago, our students enjoyed our Winter Semi-Formal Dance. Our Student Senate, led by our immensely talented Director of Counseling, Mrs. Kathleen Hanson, and outstanding seniors Sofia Santa Ines and Sophie Chmelicek, organized a fantastic event that was filled with dancing, laughter, and many smiles. Amazingly, we had over 80% of our high school students attend the dance!
Following the event, we culled through ticket sales and reflected on the students who did NOT attend the dance. Many students had very legitimate reasons for not being able to attend. Yet, through all of the sorting, we tried to discern:
Who may not feel comfortable?
Who may not feel invited?
Who may not feel included?
One of my favorite paintings is “The Calling of Saint Matthew” by Caravaggio. Historians Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker brilliantly describe the meaning of this beautiful painting. In their description, they highlight the bewildered look on the face of Matthew, the tax collector. In response to the call from Jesus, Caravaggio vividly portrays the reaction of Matthew as, “Me?” You can extrapolate Matthew’s body language to imply, “I am a tax collector and far from a follower of God. You cannot possibly be calling me! There are people much Holier than I!” Matthew even points to the person next to him implying, “You should really think of calling him!”
Christmas is a reminder that God sent his son into the world in the simplest of ways - as a baby. He arrived to a mother whose initial reaction was of shock. Yet, she answered, “Yes.” He arrived to a father who was not a King but a simple carpenter. He arrived in what could be described as a lean-to for cattle. He arrived in circumstances that were far from worldly perfection.
In similar ways, God arrives to us, not in the perfection of our lives, but in the messiness. He arrives despite our faults. He arrives despite our failures. He arrives despite our fears. In so many ways, we can feel like the depiction of Saint Matthew by Caravaggio.
“I am not Holy enough.”
“You cannot possibly be calling me.”
“I am just an ordinary person.”
“You should really be calling someone else.”
Yet, Christmas is a reminder that God arrives in the messiness - calling us to follow. He does not arrive just for Priests, Bishops, Brothers, or Sisters. He arrives and calls all of us - no matter how un-Holy we may feel!
On Christmas Eve, the inn was full and the Holy Family was not on anyone’s list. Like our recent semi-formal, God asks us, “Who is not at the dance of our lives?” When culling OUR list, who are those who need our love and compassion? And when we naturally think that we are not Holy enough to perform this work, let us reflect on the Calling of Saint Matthew. We are not Holy because we live perfect lives, we are Holy because we constantly seek out Christmas. As Lasallians, let us set out on a journey to those who are not on the guest list of the inn - that is where we will find Christmas.
May you and your families be blessed throughout these final few days on the journey to Christmas!
Mr. Matthew Keough
President, Christian Brothers Academy
