Christmas Cheer From Canterbury

From a purported Christmas message from the Archbishop of Canterbury:

...My mind wandered back to a day spent at Lake Vyrnwy high up in the mountains above Bala. A small number of us had spent a day of reflection at the hotel and had pushed out in a boat towards the dam wall. "Listen, Rowan," said Dai, as his eyes surveyed the rough stonework. "If it's true that pilgrimage and faith cannot exist outside of complex histories and theoretical perspectives, then why is there a dead sheep in the water over there?"

We gently steered away and headed towards the old Victorian pumping house. "It's not that simple." I insisted, my thoughts turning to Venantius Fortunatus. "And we cannot argue such a position from a few obscure, disconnected biblical verses now, can we boys?" They all shook their heads and looked down at their damp boots. "But Bethlehem wasn't simple either." They seemed to brighten. "You see, even taking into exegetical account the synoptic variations, one thing is blindingly simple. There was a sheep there as well!"

"A dead sheep?" Iolo sounded unconvinced. "No, a live one!" I hammered home my thesis. "Indicative of the regeneration inherent in the Incarnation. It was probably being carried by a shepherd boy"...

J.