O, to have been there!

And once again I find myself wishing I could time travel . . . wishing I could go back to that night . . . that holy night when the shepherds found their way to the stable, found their way to Jesus.  As I arrange the pieces of my Nativity, this is what I see:  Mary and her babe ~ Joseph, trying to catch a much-needed nap ~ a few animals ~ and off to one side sits a group of shepherds. They sit silently on the floor; perhaps perplexed, perhaps in awe, no doubt in amazement.  ‘See, their night watch had been interrupted by an explosion of light from heaven and a symphony of angels.   Can you only imagine??  And, why them, you ask? Why would the birth of the King of Kings be announced to shepherds first?  They were considered ceremonially unclean, disreputable in a court of law, and well . . . they slept with their animals!   Perhaps it is because God goes to those who have time to hear him--so on this cloudless night, he went to simple shepherds.  They offered no excuses for why they could not go meet Jesus, but hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.  

Do you think the shepherds would have found the Christ Child if he had been ensconced within the comfortable walls of the inn?   It is an interesting question, and of course, God could have caused anything to happen.  But the fact is, he didn’t—he chose a cave or stable where animals were brought out of the cold and weather.  That is the place where his one, dear son made his entrance into the world.  So, why there?  What was the significance of this setting?  And, what if there HAD been room, would that have changed things?  One thing is for sure--the message of access to Jesus would have been different, maybe even missed.  In a stable, or in a cave, the baby Jesus was easier to get to--just ask the shepherds! Even smelly, dirty shepherds visited the newborn King.  

      "Majesty in the midst of the mundane.  

          Holiness in the filth of sheep manure and sweat.  

            Divinity entering the world on the floor of a stable,

              through the womb of a teenager and in the presence

                 of a carpenter."                                         Max Lucado

Nonetheless the INN is highly symbolic in our story.  The INN… a place of provision, a place to rest, a place for nourishment--like when the Good Samaritan took the injured man to an inn, and paid for his keep.  INN - a place of hospitality, like in our own homes, be they grand or small. . . it doesn't matter our means, what matters is our heart. . . so, what will you do with your INN this Christmas season?

Opening your INN to others, and showing hospitality would be a great gift for you to give.   This season is a great time to invite friends for some memory-making moments-- hot chocolate, old Christmas movies, a favorite game, whatever. . . (notice that none of these require much money)

The INN… place of hospitality and opportunity. Finally, there is another type of INN -- that which we hold deep inside of us. . . that each one bears within his breast. . . the chance to receive not an infant now, but a coming King. True hospitality is a feeling of warmth, somebody wanting you to know you are safe, you are cared for, loved . . . there is nurturing to be had in this port of shelter.  An incomprehensible thing happens inside of me, when I open the heart inside of me that is the home for the Savior King . . .

I provide the space, and he brings the warmth, love, safety, and rest to me. Amazing love . . . how can it be?  Well, 700 years before his birth, Isaiah prophesied that the "virgin would bear a Son, and they would call his name Immanuel, which is translated, "God with us."  When I open my heart to Jesus, I am never alone again.  Immanuel -- God with me.

Let the stable still astonish:  straw-dirt floor, dull eyes,   Dusty flanks of donkeys, oxen; crumbling, crooked walls;                                   No bed to carry that pain, and then--the Child,                                           Rag-wrapped, laid to cry in a trough.                                                            Who would have chosen this?   Who would have said,                               "Yes, Let the God of all the heavens and earth be born here, in this place    Who, but the same God who stands in the darker, fouler rooms of                    our heart and says, "Yes, let the God of Heaven and earth be born here in this place.”                                                                        - Leslie Leyland Fields

I pray that you make room for the Christ Child in your heart this Christmas, my dear friends.

Have a Blessed Christmas with those you love,

Christine