12-12-2018

Good Morning All,

Luke 2:7; “And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.”

    When we think of the most read passages of the Bible, I would guess they are Psalm 23, John 3:16 and the Luke 2:1-20.  If you visit someone who is hurting or frightened they want to hear “The Lord is my shepherd”.  For God so loved the world… seen at football games everywhere.  Yet Luke 2 is the Christmas story.  Linus speaks the second part amazingly in “A Charlie Brown Christmas”.  Many Christmas cards use portions of Luke 2 and probably this verse the most.

    Many of you can probably recite most of the story of Jesus’ birth and a lot of you know in the King James Version.  You may even remember which portion or portions you memorized for a Christmas program when you were younger.  But have you ever given much thought to the story, especially this verse.

     Jesus was born in Bethlehem, a little wide spot in the road just outside Jerusalem.  Even in the Old Testament prophecies it is called the smallest of the clan.  With everyone who was descended from this region had to return to fill out the Roman census.  The town was packed and we like to view this as the “Motel 6” can’t leave the light on because it was full.  Yet the word we translate as “inn” can also mean guest-chamber or the spare room.  You know how it works, when all the family comes home, someone has to sleep in the kid’s room and some in the basement and some in a camper in the driveway and the kids may have to sleep in a tent in the yard.

    I am always disappointed that someone won’t give a room and a bed to a young gal who was “that” pregnant.  But it could have been late when they got in and they just wanted a place to lie down.  Maybe Mary was starting to contractions and the only thing she told Joseph was “hurry;” we’ll never know.  The town was full; probably bustling much like our cities and shopping malls will be over the next couple of weeks.  I imagine that the taverns and eating halls were crowded and the owners and servers were probably getting frazzled, like the clerks at the stores we will be shopping at.  I imagine that the little narrow streets were more crowded than they usually are kind of like our streets now.  With everyone returning to be counted, there were probably people who hadn’t seen each other for years; they probably partied together well kind of like we can do at our Christmas parties.  There was a lot going on when Jesus was born.

    There is a lot in this verse and a lot that we can see in ourselves.  As we go through the next couple of weeks, there are a lot of events that will occur.  It will get hectic and crowded.  Don’t be like the person who had no room for Jesus.  Give room for Jesus in your life and in your heart.  It is easy to lose Jesus in the season.  The season is so loud and Jesus comes to you in a quiet way that you can easily miss.  Have room in your “Inn” for your Savior.        

Father of grace, too often our “Inn” our life is full of everything and we crowd Jesus out and we have no room for him.  Forgive us and keep us aware that we celebrate Jesus’ birth and the coming of our salvation.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret