Charlie Mackesy | Alternative Carols: A Highly Inappropriate Nativity

[Music] happy Christmas Happy Christmas are you feeling Christmas see how Christmasy okay it's like Haven not knowing you know very easily I was in Sainsbury's in Brixton opposite where I live and it was quite late years of 10 o'clock and I was at the cashier and there was a long queue and my friend Paul was right at the back and I said hi Paul and he said hello Charlie and the all the queue would look at me and I'm looking to him and I said Paul you know it's late night it's winter and you're wearing shades Paul why is that he said because it does all make sure Holly that's the key collapsed like a she have left the post and it was very funny I I'm only telling that no real reason to accept the fact that I'm generally not very Dursley I'm no angel for example I was this is me recently on a tube station the evening started out fine I had a couple of classes we know how it goes you screw up a bit and I met this lovely old lady on the future and she took a photograph my friends now she emailed it to me quite nice that but yeah so you know what I'm trying to say is that I was a little bit foggy from a honey event I drank too much and I got a text you know you got texted cheap sometimes as a bit of connection and this this is the text hi Charlie would you be able to speak at the Carol services at simples yeah I was just praying about that well I'm swaggin about in a soggy outfit saying or behave to complete strangers [Applause] and now it's like it's thank many because it's my birthday today and I already want to do wasn't gonna mention but I didn't might you know how it is on you but you want to do something that's relaxing this is quite tense the point is I'm saying it's because I you know I was aware of my situation and getting a text like that I saw Lenny I'm gonna go into the tube but when I sat down I was thinking about how inappropriate I felt I don't know if you feel I have you've been here to a churchy thing before if you feel inappropriate in Christian terms I often do I it's a regular feeling for me and I I was sitting on the tube thinking and yeah how your brain goes into a rant sometimes you think about something then he just got you follow this whole line of thought my line of thought was read this I am inappropriate I you should I thought of my facebook cartoon I just put up this is my Christmas I apologize in advance Christmas decorations are you gonna put them up yourself no in the living [Applause] sorry I'll get my coat it's rude this is how I am everyone slowly getting it you're also good farming Li clean anyway the point is for me is that I may West though if you've heard of Mae West which she said I was snow white but I drifted I'm like that all right and I'm here speaking to you about Christmas when I was a boy I remembered this I was in a choir - oh no and I wore a red bright red dress and I remember coming home from a choir practice and I we lived on a farm and Eric why what was chic with when I was he was a sort of he was in his 20s I was only 12 but we were together and he looked at me and he said this Charlie take that stupid religious dress off and get with the real world not like that was a Jordy and I sort of laughed nervously and he's and I said why'd he come to the service it's tomorrow tomorrow night and he said I'm not that kind of person I'm an inappropriate person Charlie for that kind of stuff anyway it's a big bag of shortbread and so is our awkwardly you know strode on but really underneath it is perfectly angelic little little cassock that I wore in my quiet underneath it was a grubby naughty boy that's the truth of human beings we Sommers look religious but I see underneath it we're all the same rule nor theory so in my on my cheap sure and I was thinking about this how actually you know from the outside you can look in and you can see that and I thought you know basically the nativity but we're celebrating tonight III felt inappropriate the nativity out of he know much about mantid nativity but it was highly inappropriate we make it look all dead isn't that cute Elaine it was awful it was a it was carnage it was a nightmare and it's it's so misrepresented and so badly communicated it's like this I went to see my personal a personal trainer the other day and he said how flex he said how flexible are you and I said I can't do Tuesdays it's [Applause] so bad I just have to get it in there so the point is that I'll leave the Nativity is we see it and I saw all my life is this really cute thing and notably the invitees the Shepherd's who were really you know I could one about them and what they were doing there is a shocker and why I love school Nativity place so that he could be biggie boy have you been in school nativity place down here how many too many six do they ever go wrong yeah they go wrong that's why I love the great thank you for saying yes the thing about the risk is that sometimes they walk well for me every one I've been to is being sort of a minor catastrophe of some level I'm one of my favorite ones was Mary 4 year old standing at the crib on comes you know you're the parents were on comes the Shepherd one is up to the crib and goes we've come to see the baby Jesus sir and looks in the crib and says looks at Maris's it's a nice baby then he says what are you gonna call him and Mary Mary when Colin which Shepard when promised he went he did this what Colin Christ Colin the savior of the world miss mine Mary just started crying the donkey I think miss Mary's brother went for the Shepherd another Shepherd defended the Shepherd against the donkey an angel from us came in and then teachers get you know religious war happened on stage and and and why what what kills me other story is that unwittingly the young shepherd didn't really realize that he was how can I say he was reflecting historical accuracy of the inappropriateness of the shabath like he had no idea he was just being a little knows that actually he was bang on point they were worse than that but they were like that and it kills me because and I had to talk Syria if you mean you've been here before but I'm on these Shepherds if you read the Nativity story you might relate to an angel if you feel that way or you might relate to the wise men if you feel wise or Joseph but I just relate to naughty shepherds and I'm so glad they were invited it's why i sat on the tube and thought I can do this tour because I'm invited and if you if you feel note to you or on the outside if you don't quite cut up to the Christian cookie cut a clean image in you come you are invited to the to the birth of the central figure in the history of the cosmos mmm Mary and Joseph I don't if you they walk 90 miles so it's a long way to walk in that kind of environment where I could learn this reading history books their chief fear guess what Mary Joseph chief fear was on their way to Bethlehem apart from bandits and wild boar Lyons no tell her today there were lines in the in the in the valley anyway I digress that's probably not very Christmassy but anyway I find anyway the point is you had an exhausted teenage couple in a dirty place with people they were terrified of properly who'd been invited who were known as thieves and brigands staring at the baby and it was a God if you like I don't know how you see the word God but God incarnate this extraordinary idea born into extreme mess I mean 2016 is kind of a mess born into this bunch invulnerability in weakness surrounded by I mean I've done a we have that cartoon here's my Nativity cartoon says where are all the important people badass Shepard T knows nobody's Shepards unreligious and unclean bad bad boys straw son of God poo and more poo it's not poo there this is no neat sweet thing this is extreme and it's why I love it it's why again on the tube I thought I'm gonna do so care about you I don't if you ever studied painters care about you a wild man did this painting of the Nativity this painting was rejected for four decades Pablito like a hundred years on the basis that the the shepherds those are shepherds there were too vulgar it wasn't Christmassy enough if you feel volga if you feel ordinary if you feel this is you this is you and I invited it's a beautiful thing and I love it and I every time I feel myself out of heat self exclude from Christendom but I do that Craig Christmas pulls me back in on the basis of this you invited you are loved you are known you are so welcome and I you know and I say that or this thank you for the picture this nativity scene is a symbol of the church maybe you're in or out I don't know where you are but all it is is naughty people gathering around that actual figure of grace life is messy it's extremely difficult on my way he I trust my friend busty who's very tall with an Adam's apple that moves freely and I said 'buster I'm scared I'm talking with carol service and he prayed it quite prayer for me and we have the most honest friendship on the planet and that's it we're just messy scruffy people centering it on grace and love and were often wrecked but we know were loved and you are - that's Christmas and I think it's presented as morality but really it's connection and you get connected not by being moral but I think when you really connect it's when you're vulnerable with each other and God was vulnerable with us and came tiny like a tiny thing vulnerability and that's connection just can and that's I think the human desire is to be connected I was the worst Center ever on the planet I was invited to be Santa the school next door arrive late sweaty in a red outfit I got stuck in my hearse and bricks and had to bike here when I got here I was all across those ten minutes late I shoved that in front of 50 kids who are all sitting waiting I was given a bag of presents and I remember standing in front someone I just I said this have you been good couldn't even raise a smile as a grumpy get and there was a long pause and at least five of the kids just started crying it was awful and I don't blame them though the scary man saying have you been good and I wish one of them had had the CAD the goal to say no I haven't been good I'm never gonna be good and frankly Santi great it's not really the point is it Christmas is not about if I've been good I'll never be good it's a gift it's called great Santa now give us the presents and go home so that no one said that shame all I'd say to you is this child grows up and if you again from the outside in look at Christianity as I did and you think it's highly complicated I would say this to you it's very simple that he grew up to the you know in his thirteen 3150 when he is in his prime time he was asked what's the most important rule what is it just Tommy and he said oh well love God with all your heart your mind soul strength and love your neighbor as yourself it's the most important thing everything all these rules all these for all these laws hang on this one thing you remember that you got it and who is God what God is someone who makes yourself tiny and vulnerable comes to be with us who loves us so that's it so if you get confused or you see it as an argument you see as people going oh you can't just remember the nativity you're invited and you are loved and all were required to do is love one another and love him I heard last story about a little boy who was tennis who was really difficult school like he was apparently a nightmare he never listened he was always disruptive he was always talking his parents are trying to force him to be amazing he did where you want to be amazing etc and they gave him in the nativity play the job as the innkeeper he had one line and they were pretty certainly he would never get to say the line if they just thought he'd screw it up or he do something say something annoying or what so anyway apparently he was standing there behind the door he's out over here somewhere Mary and Joseph arrived and they knocked on the door and they're all waiting to see what boy does and the door opens and he looks at them and says they say to him is there any room in the end he just goes no we're full up go somewhere else bang said it's like that's the line we're full up go somewhere else bang and everyone he's in something's destructive and Mary and Joseph stood there looking and this parent just wandered off music rose and they just walked off forlorn-looking like Mary got to about here this is what happened the door opened and they just saw this Boyd with tears pouring down his face pouring down his face and he just came I said wait wait wait stop let's stop sleep in my bed sleep in my bed sleep in my bed see my bed come back in and come back in and he in those 20 30 40 seconds completely lost himself but in that moment he realized what was going on and wanted the parents of the the of grace to come back in and be in his home and when I heard that I was just struck by it on the basis that I am continually going bog off go away no room in here mate no room in here daily on the divine kiss I don't how you see God but there's a gentle God who comes to be with us and I just go buying and this boy suddenly was overwhelmed with it and ran out and said just come on and that's it and again I say life's difficult heed the boys a mess he was out inviting them into his mess the world is a mess we invite Christ into bring Pete the Prince of Peace into it and it can look ugly in the way we portray I'm sure I've done a bad job but if you really think about it it's got to be one of the most stunning tender kind empathetic beautiful things in the history of the world happy Christmas you're not alone and you never will be alone thank you I'm Bear Grylls my favorite way to start the day the Bible in one year that's how wild I am find out more at Bible in one year org or download the Bible in one year app

Channel: HTB Church

Views: 9,351

Rating: 4.8899083 out of 5

Keywords: Charlie Mackesy, HTB, Holy Trinity Brompton, Christmas

Id: szEd8UDZlSw

Length: 18min 1sec (1081 seconds)

Published: Wed Dec 14 2016