We often have a feeling that the people we know, or the events we experience on a regular basis cannot surprise us with anything new and therefore they cannot enrich our lives anymore. Christmas is just like that. Only children can still be amazed by everything that is happening during that time – by its beauty and special “events”. It is not especially exciting and maybe not even appealing for us adults. We know its typical atmosphere and we know what will go on. We know exactly what kinds of cookies our wife or mother-in-law will bake, what will be on the festival table when we return from church, which Christmas movies will be broadcast on TV, as well as what Bible lessons the pastor will read in church. – I am pretty sure we are also familiar with the text we just read. We know the setting where Jesus’ birth took place, we know the names mentioned in the story. – And yet! If we dare to dive into the depth of this fantastic story and stop just skimming the surface a brand new message will appear.
I am not sure if you noticed it when reading this text quickly but there is one more person hiding in this Christmas story. – Luke does not mention him directly. We do not know his name either, yet we can see him there quite clearly. He is a well-known person, standing in the background of this sentence: “There was no room available for them.” – Yes, in my Christmas Eve sermon I want to focus on the owner of the Bethlehem inn who had to tell this unpleasant news to Joseph and Mary: “We are full; there is no room for you.”
Since the Scripture did not assign him any name let’s try to give him one. Let’s be honest and ask ourselves one question: Isn’t this nameless man a picture of someone who is sitting in this church? Shouldn’t I attach my name to this character? Isn’t it me who does not have room for the coming King?
Three things about this nameless man will help us understand his actions, and therefore our own as well.
1) It is obvious that each inn has its accommodation limits. A census does not take place every day so it is no wonder there were no vacancies. There was no room for anyone. – This situation seems like a picture of the life of a contemporary person. Our lives are often so full of so many responsibilities and worries that there is no room for anything else. How often do we realize that we do not have any time left for any of those things we consider so important in the corner of our hearts. We must take care of so many tasks that it is naive to even think we could manage anything else. – You may not be rejecting Jesus Christ, the Son of God, in any deliberate way, you may be telling yourselves that you believe in Him, He is your authority, and in spite of that, you do not have enough room for him. The business of our lives and lack of time simply do not allow for some things. And yet the solution is so simple. Why not re-evaluate our lives and make the changes?
2) But let’s look at the Bethlehem inn owner from a different perspective as well. We do not have to see him in such a negative way. May-be he was a man who was trying to do everything that was in his power. Our story could have happened in a totally different way. Even though all the beds were taken, he, as a decent inn owner, did not send the shelter seekers away. Of course, he did not offer them his own bedroom but at least he offered the stable as an emergency shelter in the advanced stage of Mary’s pregnancy – a place to sleep overnight. He at least did something.
Even today’s decent, often well-educated people treat Jesus Christ, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords in a similar way. They do not reject him completely, they do not go against him openly but in the end they leave him on the periphery of their lives. These people will never say directly: “Don’t bother me with your faith, it is not for me!” I have heard a number of people say: “I believe in a God.” Yet, I felt some hesitation in their statements. They did not appear to be willing nor ready to recognize Jesus Christ as God´s only Son. The Saviour has been left forgotten somewhere on the side, in a stable outside of the house. – But the Son of God is expecting us to invite Him into the most important places of our lives, to the places where we live, where we work, where we think, where we make decisions, and where we spend our leisure time. Let’s ask ourselves again: Do I really have the best place ready for the Lord Jesus Christ? Or do I just keep him around in a case of an emergency, like an insurance policy for such time when I am not able to cope with something on my own, when I am not able to change something by my own power?
3) The third reason why the inn owner did not have room for Jesus might be the fact that he was too busy during the census time. There were too many guests and he had to take care of them. – This is also the problem for a number of people today. All it takes in the sharp competition today is a bit of hesitation and a person finds himself or herself out of the game. And life in the pre-Christmas season and the-end-of-the-year activities seems to be getting even more hectic. It is necessary to manage so many things not only in the workplace but also at home, with family, and maybe in one’s heart. How can one cope with it all? Even our nameless man had so many tasks to take care of. In fact he could not have responded differently.
When we think about our lives, what are our priorities? I believe that most of us would say that they wish to spend more time with family and provide the best for our children. We also know that we should concentrate on our spiritual life and develop our relationship with God. But the reality of our life is different. We cannot get out of the whirlwind of a life-style defined by consumerism. We work hard to make our living, to have a quality life, to provide the best education for our children and help them develop their talent and skills, but the reality is that the more we try, the deeper into the trap we fall. – Our whole life in the end appears more than just a tragic comedy. We want to live comfortably so we buy a bigger house only to end up just sleeping in it. We want to spend leisure time with our children only to find ourselves driving them to practices and rehearsals during their free time and committing them to the care of coaches and teachers, and falling exhausted into our beds in the evening. We wish to prepare them for a hard life and the problems they may encounter later as best as we can but we neglect their spiritual lives. We want to prepare them for the future as best as possible but we never tell them what is awaiting them after death and what God has prepared for us. – Yes, the accelerating life has prepared a trap for all people, not only for their faith and conscience but their very salvation too. What a devilish time! Who can stop and break this pressure?
We wish each other all good things during Christmas: health, happiness and general satisfaction. It would be great if we could wish others something deeper as well. Let’s wish others not only a good life, to live in comfort but also to die well one day – reconciled with God and prepared for eternity. – It is not enough just to be a person on the periphery who does not have room for the Son of God. It would be an eternal pity if our lives only remained occupied with those things that do not bear on receiving our salvation in any way.
Dear brothers and sisters, today we followed the story of one nameless man who did not seem to come from the old and ancient times. It reminded us way too much of the world we live in and people we meet even today. – I wish and pray that all of us are able to set aside enough time for the One who came to save us, and not only during Christmas. We do not want to be among those who do not have enough room for their Saviour. We do not want to be the ones who will leave Him standing in front of the door of their lives. We do not want to become just some characters on the periphery without any real name, finally losing our lives due to the unimportant earthly worries and things. Let’s live in such a way that the Saviour of the world can live and rule in our lives as well. Amen.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, you are standing in front of the door of our hearts and knock. May we not reject your calling but accept it and make you the Lord and King of our lives now and forever. Please give us power to resist everything that separates us from you, that burdens our mind, everything that forms a barrier to our faith in you. We sincerely pray for this year’s Christmas as well. May it not be only an empty festival that cannot fill us with gratefulness and joy but may we fully experience its true spiritual content. May your holy name be praised for your work for us in the Lord Jesus. Amen.
