And she gave birth to
her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger,
because there was no room for them in the inn. (Luke 2:7)
No room. No place. Nowhere the holy
family could fit, could squeeze themselves in. There was already too much, too many.
No room for just one more – even one as small as a baby.
It’s so easy for our inns to become
overcrowded. Career. Family. Social obligations. Doctor appointments.
Housework. Financial obligations. Next thing you know you look at your calendar
and see all the little squares are filled in – there’s no room. No room for one more thing. Even if that one is Our Savior.
When my daughter was younger we had
a ritual – before her birthday each year she needed to go through all the stuff
in her room and take out what she didn’t need, what she was willing to let go
of, what could be given away – to make room for the new gifts she would receive
for her birthday.
Our spiritual lives are much the
same. Every year we celebrate a birthday – the birthday of Jesus – and the gift
we are offered is Jesus himself – and all that comes with him: hope, joy,
peace, comfort, new life. And if we receive those gifts, Jesus is born in us
and we are made new – Christmas becomes our birthday too.
But will there be room in our lives
and in our hearts for the gifts Jesus brings? What can we let go of, what don’t
we need, what burdens can be given away – so we have space for the new? Advent
is the time, in the words of the familiar carol, to “let every heart, prepare
him room.”
When the holy comes knocking, will
there be a place in your inn?
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