MATTERNICH
I’ve never been in a western stage coach or a 17th
century traveling coach.
This traveling coach had two 15 foot in diameter wheels. Big. Strong.
Solid. Enormous.
These wheels were in the back of the wooden coach – holding
up most of the wagon. The two wheels in
front were much smaller – maybe 5 feet in diameter.
His wife and sister-in-law weren’t interested in looking at
a very old traveling coach – in this main first floor room of the museum. You
could see that in 30 seconds. They preferred going through the rest of this
dusty museum in Matternich, Germany – to see what
else they had. They liked looking at ornate gowns and everyday clothing from
the 16th, 17th 18th
and 19th centuries. That
could take an interesting two hours.
He stayed in that main room. He sat on a tan wooden bench –
watching the room – watching people coming and going – mostly stopping to point
out and talk about the very ornate well carved wooden 16th century
traveling coach – in the center of the room.
Nobody noticed the wooden shepherds walking stick next to
the wall – before heading into the rest of the museum.
He’d get up from time to time and try to read and study the
drawings and texts around the room, They showed pictures of several inns and a small stable next to the town tavern
and inn. He figured out it was the Christmas stable – because it featured the
Christmas scene of Mary and Joseph – and the child Jesus, It showed drawings of
hundreds and hundreds of people on paths – moving towards the Christmas crib.
He didn’t know German – so he really didn’t know about the coach and this room.
He guessed it was a Christmas crib – from way back in the
16th or 17th centuries.
Finally he heard someone speaking English. He looked like a
museum guide.
So he got up and headed over to the museum guide.
“It sounds like you speak English.”
“Ya!”
"What is this coach and what is this place all about?”
The guide said, “You heard of Oberammergau?”
“Yes.”
“Well, in that town starting back in 1634 during Holy Week, they began reenactments of
the Passion and Death of Jesus Christ. Well that’s been going on every 10 years
or so ever since. Of course there were times it was cancelled because of wars
and plagues – and this and that.
Then the guide with a great sense of pride said, “Here in
Matternich since the 1500’s – we had a Christmas reenactment. Townsfolks played
the parts of the shepherds and kings, Mary and Joseph, the inn keeper, Herod
and townsfolks. A new born baby was the star
of the show.
It was so successful that in the following century Oberammergau
started their Passion Play. They stole our
idea. Then sorry to say the Christmas Nativity reenactment died out here in
Matternich in the early 18 hundreds.”
“What about the wagon?” the man asked the guide.
“Oh, that. Well they found this old coach which would bring
one of the 3 kings to see the new born baby. They cleaned it up. They fixed it
up. They elaborated it up and put it here as the main feature left from the
Matternich Christmas Play”
“Oh, okay!,” said the man to the guide.
Then he asked the guide about the shepherd’s staff in the
corner. It had signs telling what it was
– but the message was in German.
“Oh, that, you noticed that.”
“Ya!”
The guide laughed – saying – “You’re learning German!”?”
“Danka …. Thanks” said the man. “But what about the
Shepherd’s staff?”
“Well, it says on the sign next to it. The chief shepherd
at the end of the play, would put down his staff and pick up the baby. He would
hold it up for all to see and say. ‘Behold the Lamb of God who has come to save
our world.’ And everyone would then clap and sing a great Christmas hymn.”
“Oh, nice!” said the visitor.
Then he went back to his seat thinking about all this –
wondering when his wife and sister-in-law would return.
For the next 14 years of his life – remembering that moment
– he wondered if he was more the staff or more the wagon?
[This is a totally fictitious story. A priest,
Father John Duffy, whom I was stationed with, would write a Christmas story
every year for his niece. He was a horrible typist, so I typed a few of them
out – and that’s how I learned about his Christmas stories. I have 8 of
them.
Well, Duff died on December 24th 1993. That Christmas – I was stationed in Lima, Ohio,
so I decided to write a Christmas story in memory of Duff – for my Christmas
Sermon. I ended up doing that every
Christmas till two years ago – when I got stationed here at San Alfonso Retreat
House – and there was no Christmas public mass.
Ooops, it hit me yesterday to do a new one. This is Number 27. For
some reason – I don’t know why – I made up the name of a non-existence place in
Germany – Matternich – and gave my story that title. Amen.
