There was no place for Joseph, Mary, and Jesus in the inn (Luke 2:7). With Santas, Christmas trees, presents, mistletoe, and stockings, is there room for Jesus today?
The announcement of Jesus’s birth came to shepherds (Luke 2:8-14), not to the upper or middle class, religious leaders, political rulers, or innovative groundbreakers. Is our proclamation of Jesus to those of humble means?
Only the wise men from the East noticed Jesus’s star. The Jews, those who were supposed to be looking for the Messiah, did not see the star (Matthew 2:1-3). Are we looking for and genuinely seeing God, or only seeing God as what we want?
Joseph, Mary, and Jesus were immigrants and political refugees in Egypt (Matthew 2:13-14). A foreigner with the hands of a carpenter and a pocket full of gold, frankincense, and myrrh could only have looked like a thief. Would we have received them?
In our telling of the Christmas story, we ignore Herod’s murder of the male children and the weeping and lamentation of inconsolable mothers (Matthew 2:16-18). Do we ignore the tragic deaths of children from worldwide conflicts?
May there be room in your heart and time in your schedule for a Savior. May you be found among and proclaim good news to those of humble means. May you genuinely search for and see God for who He is. May you receive the political refugee and pray for the reign of the Prince of Peace over conflict.
May your celebration of our Lord’s first Advent and the tragedies of this life make you yearn for and prepare your heart for the Lord’s second Advent.