Lord God, our Father, open our eyes to see the miracle in the manger, Your Christmas gift to us, and help us to make room for Him who is Your Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
If you look at the picture just under the Let's Think About It heading on the order of service …. You'll see a manger - an animal feed trough - with a newborn baby in it. Hardly the ideal place for any little one to begin their life, is it? And if we stop to think about it, there's a lot about the birth of Jesus that is less than ideal. This can be summed up in those final words we heard from the Bible Reading: "There was no room for them in the inn" (Luke 2. 7).
No room. In those days, there was no online advance room booking. Mary and Joseph had to turn up in Bethlehem and see what room was available. And when they finally arrived from Nazareth after a long, slow, tiring and uncomfortable journey, there was no room - nothing except a lowly stable or cave. A room that was probably smelly, dirty, and untidy. And it was here that "Mary gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger" (Luke 2. 7). At the heart of Christmas is the One who was laid in a manger. The true miracle of Christmas is that, in Jesus, God has come to us, not in majesty but in meekness, not in the magnificence of heaven, but in the messiness of earth. And He still comes to us, and can be found by us - not in some ideal pain-free hygienic cosy surroundings, but in the very ordinary and messy rooms of our ordinary lives.
Like that first Christmas, many today will find themselves in less than ideal circumstances. For some, it may also be a case of 'no room' - e.g. the growing numbers of homeless and refugees in this country and around the world, those who have to seek shelter wherever they can. For others, it may be the experience of an 'empty room' - e.g. the painful reminder of loved ones who are no longer there, or of relationships that have broken down. And there are also many other 'rooms' which can be especially uncomfortable ones to inhabit at Christmas - e.g. 'the room of loneliness' or the 'room of austerity, a 'stressed-out room', a 'suffering room', a 'room of anxiety and fear'…
Yet the Lord comes to meet us where we are, and wants to share the ordinary rooms of our ordinary lives. But why should He do this? St John sums up the Good News of Christ's coming among us in these words: "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him" (John 3. 16, 17).
Hands up who's a fan of Downton Abbey?! Well if - like me -you are, then you may have booked your seat in front of the TV at 9.00 this evening for the 2 hour Christmas Special! So will the fraught romance between Lady Mary and Matthew Crawley have a happy ending? Not long to wait to find out! When you think about it, Christmas is the ultimate love story. It is the love story between God and this world, a love story that involves a priceless gift, and the greatest self-sacrifice. The gift of God's only Son, Jesus Christ, and the self-sacrifice that He would one day make for us, and for this world. For while there was no room at the inn for Jesus when He was born, there was room for Him on the Cross where He would die.
Why should this be? So that, through Jesus, God would make room to welcome those who made no room for Him. And not just welcome. As one of the early Christians, Irenaeus, once put it: "The Word of God, Jesus Christ, on account of His great love for mankind, became what we are in order to make us what He is Himself." Therein lies the amazing mystery at the heart of Christmas. The mystery of how, in Jesus Christ, God has come to share in the messy room of our life, so that we might come to share in the magnificent room of His life - life that is far beyond our imagining. This is the life that was first born among us, and laid in a manger; the same life that triumphed, once and for all, over our ancient foes of sin and death. For at Easter Jesus was born a second time, born from the grave - 'the first-born from the dead' - into the glory of heaven, and the throne of God. And it is this life - the life of Jesus Christ - that now comes to us as a free gift of love - free to us, yes, but infinitely costly to the Giver.
How, then, might you and I respond to God's gift to us of Jesus? Perhaps, to some extent, it depends on the sort of Christmas 'room' in which we find ourselves. For example, if the room of our life is full and frantic, then it is easy to fail to notice the Lord, or to make any room for Him. And that can be especially true at Christmas, with all the seasonal activity - shopping, parties, travelling, and so on. Yet, if we take Christ out of Christmas, then - as someone once pointed out - we are left with M & S! As well as a few credit cards to pay off in the New Year…
On the other hand, if our Christmas room is empty, then it is tempting to try to fill it with something - anything - to stop us dwelling on what we might find too painful to bear. And then we forget that Jesus wants to be with us just where we are, however empty, bare, or messy we feel our lives to be.
Whatever room you and I find ourselves in, there is another way that all of us can respond to Jesus, God's Christmas gift of love. Like all gifts, we can say Thank You - thank you to God for Jesus, just as we are doing here this morning. And we can also decide to make room - or to make more room - for Jesus, in the place that He wants to be present most of all - the room of our hearts. How do we do this? Simply by opening the door, and inviting Jesus to come into our lives. For it is the Lord who says to us: "Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you" (Revelation 3. 20). May it be your prayer, and mine, this Christmas Day - and always - "O come to my heart, Lord Jesus; there is room in my heart for Thee."
John Barr
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