In the inn of our own hearts, there is an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. God is with us!

 

 

CHRISTMAS1 2020

While I was the pastor of St Louis parish some years ago, I visited the home of a wonderful parish family. The youngest in the family was five years old.  She immediately took me by the hand and brought me to the family nativity set.  She pointed to the baby Jesus and promptly told me that the baby Jesus was me.  She claimed I was God.

As I have reflected on this young girl’s description of me as God, this has been a source of prayer for me.  The truth is that the mystery of Christmas is that God chooses to come among us.  God does dwell in the heart and soul of each one of us.

Let me ask you the question:  where is God as we celebrate Christmas in 2020 as we wrestle with the coronavirus?  You can point to the heavens; you can point to the infant Jesus in the Bethlehem crib; but I would like you now to point to your heart as I ask the question:  Where is God?

As we listen to the Gospel just proclaimed: in  one simple unassuming sentence, the Christmas mystery is revealed.  From the evangelist Luke:  “While they were there, the time came for her to have her child, and she gave birth to her firstborn son.” 

The power of God comes to us in a tiny infant.  God is with us in the Bethlehem infant born to Mary and Joseph.

Of all the ways that God could have come into our world, the way he chose was as an infant, born in the simplicity and poverty of the Bethlehem crib.

“She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”  No room in the inn is not simply a description of the housing situation in Bethlehem at the time.  It is a probing statement that is meant for us to continually reflect upon as we retell the Christmas story.

 And so, may I ask you what is the housing situation in the inn of your heart?   Is there room in the inn of our hearts for the birth of the Savior?    Is there room in the inn of your heart for the family member for whom you have difficulty getting along with?  Is there room in the inn of your heart for people who think differently than you -- politically, religiously, or in any way whatsoever?  Is there room in the inn of our hearts for Jesus who lives in the hearts of the poor, the immigrants, and children of all cultures and of all ways of life?

As we celebrate Christmas in 2020, Christmas is not simply about Mary and Joseph and the baby.  It is about God becoming part of our daily struggle, transforming the world through us.  We are the people who walk in darkness – the darkness of sin, the darkness of war, the darkness of relationships that are broken, and the darkness of the threat of violence and terrorism.  How many people in our world today experience “no room in the inn” because of race, color, religion, gender, sexuality?  What attitude and actions of ours communicate to people in need that there is no room for them in the inn of our hearts?  Do we ever in our parish life make people feel unwelcome and there is no room for them?  The message of Christmas is that Jesus comes for people in dark places.  The real, lasting and deep joy of Christmas is that light shines in the darkness.

  You may be sure that to whatever area of our life we allow the Christ child to enter, the darkness recedes.  The mystery of Christmas is allowing the person of Jesus to enter the inn of our hearts.  It is an invitation to look at our present moment through a different lens, the mystery of the nativity of Jesus, the wonder of the Incarnation.  This new lens enables us to see a new and radiant vision, a light for people who walk in darkness.

How can we imagine that it is God’s desire to allow the person of Jesus to enter the inn of our heart?  My niece Emily sent me a photo of her three year old daughter playing with the figures in the nativity scene that is in her home.  Now Taylor was talking to Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus in the same way she would play with her barbie dolls.  Now was Taylor in all her innocence being irreverent in playing with the figures of Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus? 

I suggest not.  Taylor is touching into the deepest aspect of the Christmas mystery.  God wishes to come us among in the person of Jesus.  God wishes to become a part of our lives, part of our family lives.  May we see our prayer as our conversation with Jesus.  It is a great idea to seek the assistance of Mary and Joseph in our conversation with Jesus.  It is awesome that we can simply  talk to Jesus. 

Do you see your prayer as a conversation with Jesus?

 The story of Bethlehem points to a vision of hope, one that relies not on the exercise of military power but an on appeal to the common instincts of the human heart.  These common instincts of the human heart are very spiritual – a spirit of peace, a spirit of joy, a spirit of family, a spirit of love, the spirit of Christmas.

The meaning of Christmas is to be found in the presence of Jesus among us and in our love for one another.

We are missioned to be the keepers of the mystery of Christmas – God is with us. We give birth to Christ when we allow the light that is within us to extend to our family, and our parish family, and to all of creation.

Our exterior Christmas decorations are up and they are beautiful.  What about our interior Christmas decorations?  May we allow the peace of Christ to enter once again into our lives, calming all of our anxieties and filling with all that is good.   My we fill this world with many stories that mirror and give witness to God’s love for us. 

The real meaning of Christmas is that God is with us.  In the inn of our own hearts, there is an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.

Have a blessed Christmas day.