Christmas has always seemed magical to me and this year was no different. Maybe magical isn’t the right word. Growing up it seemed magical … I think I realized this year that what seemed magical was really holy. Maybe, in a sense, holy and magical are very similar.
D & I went to First UMC of Blairsville for candlelight worship Christmas Eve and it was truly a holy experience. As we sat in a sanctuary where we were practically strangers, it was incredible to celebrate the birth of baby Jesus with people who we knew nothing about. I experienced community that night – with people who I will likely never see again. It’s worship experiences like this that make me love and appreciate the church. Besides this rejuvenated appreciation for the church as the body of Christ, there were two big revelations for me this Christmas.
As we worshiped I became awestruck at the idea that God – all powerful and incredibly mighty – came to us as a baby. I can’t really grasp the incredible significance that has. Now that there are babies in the family, babies that we believe are truly miracles, I couldn’t stop thinking of Jesus as those tiny helpless babies. God relied on Mary & Joseph to care for Jesus until he was old enough to care for himself. Mary and Joseph and God were a team. Mary & Joseph had to rely on God to get them through the uncertain times – they had to listen for God’s guidance all along the way. And God trusted that they were listening and would follow. God, in that moment, understood more than ever before, what we humans experience when we have to rely on the help of others. If God can be so humble as to come as a baby, then I should be humble enough to know that I cannot do all things or be all things to all people.
As the pastor got up to tell the Christmas Message titled “No Room for Jesus” I began to think about how little room babies take up. In today’s world, babies require a lot of space and things. Space to play on, toys to play with, diapers, wipes, food, bottles, etc. But I bet Mary didn’t have any of this stuff. All she needed was a tiny place to give birth and keep warm. And yet the only space they could find was in a dirty, smelly stable. One of the best revelations that came from Christmas Eve worship this year was when the pastor said if Christ came today, as a baby, he wouldn’t be born in our homes, or in our churches, or even in a nearby hotel. He’d be born in a dirty, smelly truck stop. Or a homeless shelter. That got me thinking – where else might Jesus be born if he came today? In the streets of the projects or the slums? On the streets of a downtown city? In a brothel? Or in one of the other 10,000 places that we’re too afraid to go because it’s dirty and smelly and “we’re worth more than that”? Not only does God come to us in the form of a tiny helpless baby but this tiny helpless baby comes to us in the dirty smelly places of our world.
These two revelations left me pondering one simple question: “Will I make room for Jesus in my life?” Sometimes we get so busy with stuff that we forget why we are doing what we are busy doing. True confession – sometimes I get so caught up in doing the business of the church that I forget why I decided to go into “paid” ministry in the first place. When that happens, I have crowded Jesus out. And Jesus is much too precious a gift to be crowded out.
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There is a CHRISTmas song called "No Room" (Nesler,Martin) that made me think how "human" Mary and Joseph were. Can you imagine the fear of going to a strange city, ready to deliver a baby, and not knowing where you will stay? How does Joseph comfort Mary? Knowing how Joseph and Mary were accepting of God's will, they probably did reach a point that they knew all would be right. Makes me wonder if I could ever be that accepting of God's will, to totally trust in God to supply all our needs, no matter what they might be. But God DID supply all for us by giving us Jesus. It IS all we should ever ask for.