Luke 2:1-20
Making Room for Jesus
There is a story about a group of children who had been practicing for the Big Christmas Play for several weeks.
There was Mary and Joseph and the sheep and shepherds and there was a young boy named Timmy playing the grumpy old Inn Keeper.
Timmy was a nice kid who loved Jesus and other people, and he felt guilty playing the part of the person who tells Jesus’ parents that they can’t stay in the inn.
The pageant director had spent many practices trying to convince Timmy that this is just a play and when he tells Jesus’ parents that they can’t stay at the inn—Timmy is just playing a part.
Besides this, the director tells Timmy that the Bible doesn’t even mention an innkeeper.
It’s just something that has been taken for granted.
If there is an inn that has no room; there must be an innkeeper there to tell them there is no room.
Timmy reluctantly agrees to play his part.
On the night of the play, everything is going as planned until Mary and Joseph knock on the innkeeper’s door.
“Do you have a room we can stay in for the night?” the child playing Joseph asks Timmy the innkeeper.
Timmy replies, “There’s no room in this crummy inn, but you are welcome to come and stay at my house!”
(pause)
How many of you have been listening to Christmas songs for the past couple months?
A week or so ago, I was driving and the song “Joy to the World” came on and I started to sing along.
And when I got to the part where it says, “let every heart prepare Him room,” I started to think.
And what I was thinking about was that I need to prepare more room in my heart for Jesus.
I thought about the times when I squeeze Him out or try and ignore Him.
I thought about the things I leave undone and all the good I could be doing that I don’t seem to get to.
I thought about the things I waste my time on, and the selfish things I allow into my mind, heart and life.
I thought about how I want to learn to love more.
And thought: “Why don’t I give more room in my heart, more room in my life, more of my time to Jesus?”
Can you relate?
Even before He was born, Jesus was pushed out, rejected and turned away.
The words, “No room for you…” followed Him throughout His life.
It’s the same in the lives of so many of us today.
Jesus keeps getting crowded out.
With all the festivities and busy-ness, He is often just an afterthought.
Instead of a place of honor at this time of year, Christ is often shoved into a corner.
The amazing and beautiful thing to me, though, is this: This same child that we so often push away has come to find room for us.
Think about it…
Jesus is the Father in the story of the Prodigal Son, and we are the wayward child He is waiting for.
We are His treasure hidden in a field and the Pearl of Great Price, the lost sheep, the lost coin which, when He finds us, in His joy He throws a great big party!
That is how much God loves you and me.
And because of that love I want to do a better job at loving God back.
I want to love the people God loves and make room for the people God makes room for…people like the folks who are not here this evening, the homeless man and woman shivering in a tent with no presents, no Christmas tree—left on the margins all alone.
I want to make room for the LGBTQ+ person who has been told by other churches: “We have no room for you!”
Or “God doesn’t love you the way you are.”
I want to make room for the lost and lonely teenager, the scared and angry gang member, the addicted person who just can’t seem to shake their disease, the illegal immigrant, the person fighting mental illness—you name it!
Because when I make room in my heart for other people—that is when I am making room for Jesus.
There’s another Christmas song: it’s called “In the Bleak Midwinter.”
The author was a follower of Christ who, for many years, volunteered at a shelter for women who were coming out of a life of prostitution.
Some of them were only 12 years old.
“In the Bleak Midwinter” pictures Jesus Who enters our world of suffering and brokenness with great power and love.
In light of this the author of the song asks: “What can I give him, poor as I am?”
According to the hymn, there is one thing all of us can give to Jesus no matter who we are, no matter what we have done, no matter how rich or poor:
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“If I were a shepherd I would bring a lamb.
If I were a wise person I would do my part.
What can I give him,
Give my heart.”
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This is the one thing Jesus wants—for us to make room for Him in our hearts.
And when we do this—it changes everything.
It bridges the gulf between us and God.
It transforms our lives.
It enables us to love those who are difficult to love and care for those we often overlook.
It motivates us and gives us courage to care for the poor, forgive those who have hurt us, reject racism, fight for the powerless, give generously, embrace diversity, to love God and love other people.
We are told that when the time came for Jesus to be born, Mary, “wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room in the inn.”
What, if anything, is crowding up our lives so that we don’t have room for Jesus?
Is there anything more important in this life than making room for Jesus?
Is there anything more important than loving God and our neighbor as ourselves?
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As Jesus asked in the Gospel of Mark: “What good is it for a person to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?”
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Christmas is not a beautiful card with cattle lowing and snow softly blowing and the sweet baby Jesus all clean and dressed in royal clothes.
Christmas is down and dirty.
Christmas is where the rubber meets the road.
When it came time for God to be born, the world had no room; God was unwanted, homeless even.
And by the end of God’s time on earth—we got rid of God by nailing Jesus to a Cross.
But that isn’t the end.
And that is because Jesus loves us too much for that.
Jesus pursues us and never gives up.
If you haven’t done so already…won’t you choose to give yourself and everyone you will come in contact with the greatest Christmas Gift ever?
Won’t you choose to make room for Jesus in your heart?
Will you pray with me?
Loving God,
It is so easy to live in this world, going along with the crowd, ignoring the those in need and looking out only for number one.
But that is not the way You lived.
That is not how we are created to live.
We are created for love.
Lord Jesus—we open our hearts to You this evening.
Come in and transform our lives, enable us to love the way You love.
This is the only way we can be made whole.
In Jesus’ name we pray.
Amen.
