A cathedral dean has brought his own doubts about faith and the relevance of Christian belief today into the public forum, first on his own website, and, in more recent days, with lengthy and candid interviews in all sections of the media. When a priest publicly questions the traditional beliefs that have been central to the celebrations of the great Christian festivals - particularly Christmas and Easter - it may appear his bishop has little choice but to suspend him from exercising his priestly offices in the church.
The incarnation is not just an old folk story that provides a good excuse for shopping and merriment, or eating and drinking to excess. It also challenges our values and priorities in a world that would, if needed, find plenty of other excuses for those excesses.
The story of the God who gives up everything to share in the sufferings of humanity, to enter into the squalor of poverty, to identify with the blind, the deaf, the dumb, the diseased, the prisoners, the broken, the lonely and the oppressed, remains deeply disturbing and challenging in an age that may think it has matured beyond the messages of faith and belief but values only success and riches.
The events of September 11th are a warning of the dangers of religious fundamentalism of every variety. But even when superstition is outgrown and fundamentalism abandoned, we need to be challenged about our priorities. And the priorities of the Child born in Bethlehem are in stark contrast to many of the priorities, public and private, political and social, that have gripped Ireland in recent years. Now that our future prosperity is shrouded in doubts, the priorities at the heart of the Christmas message take on added value.
But it is not just the Christmas story that makes shocking demands on us: there are challenges in all the stories that have become part of the Christmas tradition. The story of the three kings is one of free giving and a powerful image of political leaders getting their priorities right. The story of the flight into Egypt begs many questions in today's Ireland: would the Child Jesus and his family have found shelter as a homeless family? Would they be welcome here as refugees or asylum seekers, or would they be turned back at the point of arrival? Even the story of Santa Claus, with its origins in the generosity of an early Byzantine bishop, is a reminder of the priority children should have all the time and of the value of giving freely without expecting anything in return.
The central stories of Christmas are best told in poetry and drama. To reduce them to debates about historicity, literalism and modernity is to lose their poetic truth and dramatic impact, and to deprive them of their relevance. The Dean of Clonmacnoise may think Jesus was mistaken and misguided. He may say he does not believe in Christmas. But the incarnation - the story of the God who bothers to give up everything and who declares his priorities are with the poor, the suffering and the marginalised - remains relevant and challenging, not just at Christmas, but throughout all time.