Queerness, Shepherds and the Holy Family
Liturgically it is not too late for another Christmas address. We are, technically on day 5 of what is a 12-day long festival of Christmastide!
The life of Jesus queered social boundaries from the start. Who outside the Holy Family should hear of his birth first but shepherds. Shepherds were, according to the religious orthodoxy of the day, seen as ritually and physically unclean. They were at the mercy of the constant demands of their flocks and had no time for the meticulous program of ceremonial hygiene that would have been demanded of the average person.