Is There any Room for Jesus?
Wednesday, December 1st, 2010click here for past entries
Is There any Room for Jesus?
“And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.” (Luke 2:7)
Doesn’t everything suddenly seem to get very crowded this time of year? Mounds and mounds of snow, crowded shopping malls, way too much food, and a jam-packed schedule – all of these things start to crowd in on us and stress us out. The average person has Christmas concerts and parties, extra family gatherings, decorating, shopping, wrapping and baking, and perhaps actually writing some Christmas cards or letters. No wonder “Christmas” shows up as one of the items on most stress inventories!
The obligations and the “shoulds” pile up, and the demands on our time escalate, all at the same time as many people are either suffering from seasonal depression or mourning the loss of loved ones. Pretty soon, our lives are feeling very crowded and overwhelming, and there is no place for Jesus – no room – he gets squeezed right out, just like when he was born.
Add to all of this some of the things that are part of many people’s lives in December: things like gluttony, drunkenness, greed, quarreling, reveling (partying) and jealousy, and pretty soon you start to wonder what this whole season has to do with Jesus, anyway. The thing is that each of these things I just listed are mentioned as sins and works of darkness in the New Testament. They harm not only our body but our spirit, leading us away from Jesus Christ.
And so, how do we reclaim this Christmas season and make it a worthy celebration of the birth – the incarnation – of God’s Son?
For one thing, we will need to make some decisions along the way about which things really are important. How important is it to blow our budget and go into debt, all to please somebody else? How important is it to attend every party to which you are invited? How important is it to have everything done by a certain date? Do any of these things have anything to do with Jesus?
Assuming that Christmas actually is about celebrating the gift of God’s Son, here are some things that might be important:
· Find a way to make the lives of others better, whether through donations or purchasing fairly traded goods or serving a meal at a soup kitchen.
· Use Advent devotions or daily Scripture readings in order to focus your attention on Jesus.
· Pause in the midst of your busy-ness and breathe in the light of God, imagining yourself being filled with God’s healing presence. Do this whenever you move from one activity to the next.
· Take time for worship! Our spirits need to be fed and renewed.
· Refuse to worry about the things that really aren’t that important. Give thanks that God has come to be with us in Jesus.
· Focus on the light in the darkness – both literally and figuratively. Jesus is the light of the world.
· Finally, love God and love one another. It’s hard to crowd out Jesus when there’s love in your heart!
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