The Catastrophe of Christmas
Luke 2:7
* What do you think about when you hear the word, ‘catastrophe?’ Do words like disaster, calamity, ruin, tragedy, and more come to your mind? Yet if we are honest, we tend to think of catastrophes completely on an earthly or humanistic plain. For instance, Hurricane Camille (’69) & Katrina (’05) would be classified as catastrophes and our thinking is about the loss of human life and property. Honestly, this is our normal thinking. But is the real loss in life & property or could there be a greater catastrophe?
* Let’s illustrate it by thinking of catastrophes in scripture. When Adam & Eve sinned, many think the big deal was that they had to leave Eden, yet the real catastrophe was that they lost their personal relationship with God. Certainly it was a struggle when Cain killed able, but was the murder the major part of the catastrophic situation or was it that Cain attempted to approach God on HIS OWN TERMS instead of the Father’s term? When the flood came, was the true catastrophe that all but seven people died or was it that only 7 people listened to and obeyed the voice of almighty God. We could go on and on through God’s word doing a check on how we view tragedies & discover that the part of the circumstance which we ‘thought’ to be the most horrific was, while heart-wrenching, was not the worse part of the happening.
* With this as our background, have you ever considered that there could be a ‘catastrophe’ of Christmas? And that catastrophe is missed by many today. We find this almost obscured in the text which we read last week. Luke 2:7 – “Then she gave birth to her firstborn Son, and she wrapped Him snugly in cloth and laid Him in a feeding trough—because there was no room for them at the inn.”
* Herein lies the ‘catastrophe of Christmas’, ‘there was no room’ and in large measure (and sadly), ‘there is no room’ for Jesus. Would you please just think about that for a second? To think that there was ‘no room for Jesus’, God’s son, God’s gift, God’s promise, God’s provision, and God’s love gift to the world – and there was NO ROOM FOR HIM. Some would say, “He got here, so what’s the big deal?”
* It is a big deal because of the symbolism of there being no room for Jesus on His birthday, and now that tradition seems to continue. Let’s consider the ‘no room for Jesus’ and check out the symbolism.
1. No Room in the Hotel – The scripture clearly says there is no room ‘in the inn’. I do understand that this was not a skyscraping hotel, this is a symbol.
* An inn (of days past) & a hotel (of today) perform the same kind of service and in doing so give us a great illustration. The ‘hotel’ which I refer to is a microcosm of the “WORLD,” there is no room for Jesus in this world today, just look at some examples of how Christ is not welcomed here.
* Radio shack, Office Depot & Staples have removed “Christmas” from all of their advertizing, and why? Here is a direct quote from Staples, “We use the term Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas. We do this because it does not office any other religions & to remain politically correct.” Best Buy stores, “Three years ago, they announce they would no longer use the word Christmas in its seasonal advertizing.” Now we can go on naming businesses who have made conscious choices to not allow the “Christ” found in Christmas to be used (I.E. the lists could includes some “Sonics, Targets, Sears, K-marts, Delta Airlines, American Airlines, Wells Fargo Banks, etc). More evidence for the lack of room for Jesus in this world could be expanded to local, state, and even national governments. In fact, this is so prevalent that the FBC in Dallas, Texas, has set up a web site (grinchalert.com) to identify businesses & governments who acknowledge and celebrate Christmas by making room for Jesus in their establishments.
* Have you considered why businesses and governments want little to do with Jesus? Because if you accept Jesus as a gift from God, acknowledge Him as God’s son, and admit that He is the Savior of the world, then it stands to reason that you must Worship Him. There is no room for Jesus in this “HOTEL” because the world doesn’t want to worship & serve anyone else, but self (and as a whole, the world doesn’t want to do that). In fact, to take the symbolism of the Hotel to another level might mean that we say, “the NO VACANCY” sign was on display that night.
* Take a look around and make an honest assessment; does this world make room for Jesus today? Do they view Him as the light which is wanted or the leader which is needed? In the Old Testament there was ongoing rebellion against Jehovah God and His plans. In the New Testament there continued ongoing rebellion against God’s person. The word had been given that Jesus was coming and the word, by & large, had been ignored to the point that there was NO ROOM for Jesus in the inn.
2. No Room in the Heavens – Here is where our minds get turned upside down. What do I mean by ‘in heaven?’ Isn’t Jesus God’s only Son, so isn’t there always room in heaven? Was Jesus there before He was here? Never forget, “in the beginning was the word, the word was with God and the word was God. Jesus was in the beginning with God and all things were made through Him.” Yes, there was a vacant seat in heaven located on the right side of the throng, but make no mistake in the mind of Jehovah there was no room for Jesus in heaven because God had sent His Son to redeem & reclaim fallen mankind. In days past, could you imagine a US President appointing an emissary to forge out a new relationship with Iraq, Iran, or Afghanistan, and the emissary is found in Washington, DC, doing business on the home front? NO! At that point, the President wants Him ‘there.’
* I submit that God ‘sent His Son’ to earth and that to remain in glory was NOT AN Option! Out of Jesus’ own mouth (John 6- 8 for example) we are told that the Father SENT the Son. Heaven has no place for Jesus because Jesus had an assignment to perform on earth.
* I bring this to our attention to say this to those who know Jesus as their Savior & Lord, “As we look toward this Christmas day & the upcoming new year, we need to take our cue from Jesus & understand that we have an assignment from God.” Jesus’ assignment was the redemption of the world & our assignment is to make disciples of all men. We do this by letting the light, love, and life of Jesus flow through us. It is only in this way that those who do not know Christ will ever come to know Him. They have to see Him in us, how we talk to other, how we treat other, & how we truly care for others. Honestly, just like there was no room in heaven that night for Jesus because God sent Him to earth, there are times when there is no room for us to be found in a Holy Huddle. Jesus came for others & with every word He left; we are to be about others. The sad truth for Christmas could well be that, yes there was no room for Jesus in the Hotel (this world) and even heaven, but there real catastrophe might where else there is no room for Him. (SOLO – NO ROOM 3. No Room in the Heart – What true, but heart wrenching lyrics. There is “Room for houses, lands, and treasures. Room for things that pass away.” Does it require developing an argument for the truth of these statements? Most people get the last present wrapped just in time to tear them open so they can rush off to some other place to do something else that in the scheme of eternity, won’t matter at all. * It would seem to me that even among those of us who call ourselves believers we have our hearts so full of so many earthly things, that there is no room for Jesus. Romans 5 tell us that ‘With the mouth we confess & with the heart we believe.” Please listen for years, people have been told to ‘invite Jesus into your heart’ and you’ll be saved – and candidly, that is not what the Bible tells us. The bible tell us that we believe in Jesus with your heart (that is, the center of your being or with all that you are – Romans 10:10) and the result is Jesus comes into your heart, filling you with Himself. Watch, He cannot or WILL NOT come in, until invited. He will not inhabit a crowded heart. (Glass Illustration). * Do you know what Jesus wants this Christmas? He wants hearts that have been emptied of the world and opened to Him, so that He can come and fill the heart. The catastrophe is no room. * A family was eating Christmas lunch and looked down the table at 9 yr old Susie. Mom asked, “Susie, did you get everything you wanted for Christmas?” After a moment Susie said, “No, but it’s not my birthday.”
