Is there room in the inn of our hearts for Jesus to enter?

NEW YEAR’S DAY  2019

FEAST OF MARY THE MOTHER OF GOD

The life of Jesus began with Mary at the Bethlehem crib.  Therefore it is most appropriate we begin the New Year with Mary on this her feast day of Mary the Mother of God.  With the example and the intercession of Mary, may we be filled with opportunity after opportunity to say YES to the plan of God for our lives.

It’s the time of year when we roll out the old and bring in the new.  It’s the time for making new resolutions, new promises to ourselves.  We resolve to devote more time to family life; we resolve to work more efficiently; and we people decide to become healthier by dieting and exercising.

In the midst of this beautiful Christmas season, may I suggest a New Year’s resolution for all of us to ponder -- not just on Christmas but throughout all of 2019.

Reflecting on the Christmas mystery, imagine yourself as the inn keeper who decides if there is room in the inn of your heart for Jesus?  I invite you to ponder this resolution question again and again in 2019?  Does the way I live my life reflect there is room for Jesus within me.

Do I make time for daily prayer?  Is there is room in the inn of my heart for Jesus if I am too busy to pray even for a few minutes each day?

Do I have time to be present to my family, to friends, to neighbors?  Is there room in the inn of my heart for Jesus if I am too busy to be present and really listen to people?

Do I use and share the God-given talents and resources that I have to serve and minister in the lives of others?  Is there in the inn of my heart to serve Jesus as HE is discovered in the lives of those around us?

How do I make a difference in the lives of the poor and people in need both in our community and in our world?  Is there room in the inn of my heart for Jesus if I do not reach out in service to people in need?

There is no better model for us than Mary in opening ourselves to God’s plan for our lives.  We know at the Annunciation when the angel Gabriel announced to Mary that she was to be the mother of our Savior and Lord, Mary worked through her fear and confusion and said YES to God’s plan for her.  With such an inspiring faith, Mary spoke these powerful words:  “I am the handmaid of the Lord.  Be it done to me according to thy Word.”

Can we with Mary speak these words at the beginning of 2019:  “I am the servant of the Lord.  Be it done to me according to thy word.”

The evangelist Luke in today’s Gospel describe the shepherds at the Bethlehem telling Mary and Joseph all that the angel had told them about this child.  Luke then writes:  “Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.  In contrast to the frenzy of our celebrations on New Years’ Eve, Mary pondered in silence and stillness in the Bethlehem crib. 

If we want to celebrate Christmas as Mary did, we need to ponder this sign:  the frail simplicity of a tiny newborn child, the meekness with which he is placed in a manger, and the tender affection with which he is wrapped in his swaddling clothes.  This is where God is.

New Year’s Eve has an almost carnival-like atmosphere to it.  To celebrate it, we do all sorts of things:  enjoy parties, watch football games, drink champagne, toast new beginnings, wear crazy heats, set off fireworks, kiss and hug old friends, and watch the ball drop from Times Square.

For me personally, I officiated at a wedding at St. Louis Church this afternoon, and I will be going to the wedding reception this evening at the winter garden in the Bausch and Lomb building down town.  I’m sure it will be very festive, and I will enjoy it.

Following the example of Mary in the Gospel account, I know that I listen best when I also make the effort to go to that quiet place to hear God speaking to me.  I seek to take the side of God in the battle between life and destruction, between light and darkness.

Mary pondered and wondered and discerned about all that had puzzled her in the message of the angels and in the gifts of the magi.  Yes, there was uncertainty and questions for Mary and Joseph as they pondered the messages given to them about their son.  But her uncertainly about the messages given to her by the shepherds and the Magi did not keep her from reflecting and pondering about God’s plan for her life. 

In our personal life with our hopes and dreams for 2019, may we encounter Jesus in these hopes and dreams.  In the midst of these hopes and dreams, we need to ponder on the meaning of the Bethlehem crib.  We need to bow down, to humble ourselves, and to make ourselves small.  We need to go where God is.

Jesus enters our life to give us His life; he comes into our world to give us His love.  In 2019 through the intercession of Mary, may we be challenged and called by Jesus.  Let us draw close to God who draws close to us.  Let us pause to gaze upon the crib, and relive in our imagination the birth of Jesus:  light and peace, dire poverty and rejection.  With the shepherds, let us enter into the real Christmas, bringing to Jesus all that we are, our alienation, our unhealed wounds, our sins.  Then, in Jesus, we will enjoy the taste of the true spirit of Christmas:  the beauty of being loved by God.  With Mary and Joseph, let us pause before the manger, before Jesus who is born as bread for our lives.

Have a blessed day and a blessed New Year.